How is Natural Snow Created?

Natural snow falling from the sky is one of mother natures most beautiful creations. But why does it sometimes snow when the thermometer is over 32? Why does it rain when the temperature is below freezing? It's all really quite simple!

Snow is nothing more than frozen water - basically frozen clouds. The moisture condenses in the clouds until it is too heavy to stay airborne so it begins to fall. As it falls, some of the vapor forms the nucleous of a snowflake while the rest simply latches on to help grow the flakes. Some people think that a speck of dust starts the process but no one knows for sure. The six sided classic snowflake is just the natural crystal structure that forms in the right conditions. It is probably a myth that no two snowflakes can ever be the same - there are so many that no one will ever know for sure. But like all crystals, given identical conditions the crystals should form identically.

However, since the air is seldom consistent all the way down, many different things can happen to the flakes. If the air is fairly consistently cold and stable, the flakes float slowly and have time to create the classic snow flake shape we all know. If the air below is warmer, the snowflakes may melt into sleet or even rain. If the flakes fall from cold, to warmer, to cold again, they tend to get distorted into little ice balls or grains. Freezing rain happens when the moisture falls through a warmer layer but then hits a cold layer of air just above the ground. Temperature inversions, where the colder air is capped by a warmer air mass above it are fairly common in areas where cold and warm air masses collide. Sometimes it can appear to snow when it the thermometer says it is too warm. That is because there is a cold air mass above with a very thin layer of warm air near the ground.

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