- Do you know all the things about snow?
If you have Christmas in July vibes, give these snow facts a read. (And don’t worry, Christmas will be here before we know it!)
- A “thundersnow” is a snowstorm including thunder, lighting,
and strong winds. - Snow isn’t white but it’s actually clear. The snow looks white because of the way the sun reflects off of the ice crystals.
- There are 35 different types of snowflakes.
- A blizzard is a severe snowstorm that has high winds of at least 35 mph and reduced visibility to less than a quarter miles for 2 hours or more. Does this give you Christmas in July vibes?
- Science blogger Andy Brunnin has painstakingly catalogued 35 different types of snowflakes: column crystals, plane crystals, column and plane combo crystals, aggregation, rimed snow crystals, germ of ice crystals, irregular particles, other solid precipitation and more.
- Two snowflakes can look the same but probably aren’t similar.
However, one scientist in a Wisconsin snowstorm once found two identical snowflakes. - A ground blizzard is when it’s not snowing, but strong winds blow around loose snow, causing lower visibility and making it hard to see. This is for sure Christmas in July vibes!
- Some snowflakes are made of one single ice crystal.
- Needle-like crystals form at 28 degrees F, while low temperatures of 23 degrees F will lead to flat crystals.
- A snowflake is made of frozen water, so it has two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom (H2O). Water molecules are shaped in a “V” so when they align and freeze together, a hexagon shape develops.
- A snowstorm or winter storm happens during a heavy snowfall when a lot of snow accumulates on the ground.
- Lake-effect snow happens when cold air moves across a large body of warm water. The water vapor is sucked into the cold air mass, where it then freezes and falls back down as snow.
- You need dirt to make snowflakes. Did you know that snowflakes are actually a combination of tiny ice crystals that form on small bits of dirt in the air?
- Snowflakes can be symmetrical six-sided shapes.
- But they can look alike. One scientist found two identical snow flakes from a snowstorm in Wisconsin. Wisconsin needs some Christmas in July vibes with this humidity and these temps.
- Snow forms in clouds and once the temperature is below freezing, it’s the perfect time for it to happen.
- Snowflakes can also be irregular and have different shapes.
- Snowflakes grow on the way down. This helps them fall to
Earth because they get heavier. - Some snowflakes are made of up to 200 ice crystals joined together.
- It’s the air temperature around a snowflake determines its shape. Needle shapes form at 28 degrees Fahrenheit whereas lower temps around 23 degrees would create flat shapes.
- Snowflakes are made of tiny ice crystals that form on tiny bits of dirt in the air.
- Each year, at least 1 septillion snowflakes fall from the sky. That’s 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000. (Have you ever seen this crazy number written out with all those zeroes?)
So did these have the Christmas in July vibes you were hoping for? Tell me your favorite snow fact or something you learned in the comments!