<p>A <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustnado" rel="nofollow noreferrer">gustnado</a> is a landspout (i.e. a &quot;mini-tornado&quot;) that isn't connected to the ambient cloud base (if there is any). Mt Everest, the highest point on Earth, there is nothing &quot;in the way&quot; of colliding winds to form a snow gustnado on the summit. Cumulonimbus clouds can be as high as sixty thousand feet so perhaps even such gustnado could become a landspout (or snowspout). Is there enough area on or near the summit of Mt Everest (or another mountain in the Himalaya or on K2) and the right conditions possible for a snow gustnado or similar whirl spouts to form and persist for some time (and for how long) there?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-04-01T06:18:35.773Z
@gansub You know there are satellites, right? Mars probes observed whirls on Mars from orbit too. But why round the clock? A climber might have coincidentally seen one. I'm asking whether this is likely, not necessarily whether one has actually seen such whirl.
Giovanni
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-04-02T07:51:37.073Z
@gansub I dunno. But dust whirls have been observed on Mars from orbit so I believe snow whirls can be observed (indirectly perhaps) from space if there are no clouds inbetween. But I wonder whether it is even possible or likely.
Giovanni
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-04-02T18:04:03.190Z
@gansub Interesting.
Giovanni
<meteorology><mountains><snow><tornado>
Do snow gustnadoes or anything similar occur at or near the summits of the highest Himalayas such as Mt Everest?
Giovanni
# Do snow gustnadoes or anything similar occur at or near the summits of the highest Himalayas such as Mt Everest?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2023-03-30)

A [gustnado](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustnado) is a landspout (i.e. a "mini-tornado") that isn't connected to the ambient cloud base (if there is any). Mt Everest, the highest point on Earth, there is nothing "in the way" of colliding winds to form a snow gustnado on the summit. Cumulonimbus clouds can be as high as sixty thousand feet so perhaps even such gustnado could become a landspout (or snowspout). Is there enough area on or near the summit of Mt Everest (or another mountain in the Himalaya or on K2) and the right conditions possible for a snow gustnado or similar whirl spouts to form and persist for some time (and for how long) there?

**Tags:** meteorology, mountains, snow, tornado

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: @gansub You know there are satellites, right? Mars probes observed whirls on Mars from orbit too. But why round the clock? A climber might have coincidentally seen one. I'm asking whether this is likely, not necessarily whether one has actually seen such whirl.  
> **username_0**: @gansub I dunno. But dust whirls have been observed on Mars from orbit so I believe snow whirls can be observed (indirectly perhaps) from space if there are no clouds inbetween. But I wonder whether it is even possible or likely.  
> **username_0**: @gansub Interesting.  

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## 0 answers

