• Snowman blast: The faster the explosion, the more glorious the summer

    By Elena Grothe

    What a way to predict summer weather. According to Reuters: As the bells of St. Peter's church chime six o'clock, the bonfire below the Boeoegg, a snowman made of wadding and filled with firecrackers, is set alight and mounted guildsmen gallop around the pyre to the tune of the Sechselaeuten March. The faster the head of the Boeoegg, the symbol of winter, catches fire and explodes, the warmer and more beautiful the summer will be. Read more about the exploding snowman here. 

    Arnd Wiegmann / Reuters

    The Boeoegg snowman explodes atop a bonfire in the Sechselaeuten square in Zurich on Monday, April 11.

    Arnd Wiegmann / Reuters

    The Boeoegg, a snowman made of wadding and filled with firecrackers, explodes atop a bonfire in the Sechselaeuten square in Zurich on Monday.

    Alessandro Della Bella / EPA

    A guild rides around the 'Boeoegg' on the Sechselaeuten meadow in Zurich, Switzerland, on Monday.

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  • Bill Roth / Anchorage Daily News via AP

    Sunshine and temperatures in the 40's are taking a toll on the giant snowman affectionately know as Snowzilla in Anchorage, Alaska during a spring-like day on Wednesday, March 30.

    Warm weather taking a toll on giant snowman in Anchorage

    By Jim Seida

    While no-joke April Fools' snowstorm swirled toward the Northeast Thursday, warm temps in Anchorage are putting a dent in Snowzilla, a 25-foot tall snowman in Anchorage. In January we posted a picture of Snowzilla in his just-made glory. You can see it here.

  • Bill Roth / AP

    Tara Coleman reaches to touch the recently completed giant snowman affectionately know as "Snowzilla", who again resides in Anchorage, Alaska, Tuesday, Jan. 11, 2011. Homeowner Billy Ray Powers' latest reincarnation of the 25-foot snowman hasn't caused him troubles like in 2008, when he built the giant snowman in defiance of a city order.

    'Snowzilla' the giant snowman sighted in Anchorage.

    By James Cheng

    Now that's a snowman ...