How snow was formed?

Many people think that snow is just frozen rain that falls to the ground. The true process occurs in the clouds, when ice crystals form from the water vapor. This process is called sublimation and describes the solid form of snow forming directly from the vapor phase of water, without passing through the liquid water phase (rain).

It turns out that "pure" snow is made up of snowflakes, which are made up of 2 to 200 separate snow crystals. Snow crystals are crystals that have formed around tiny bits of dirt that have been carried up into the atmosphere by the wind.

The type of crystals depends on the amount of humidity and temperature present when they are forming. When cloud temperature is at freezing or below and the clouds are moisture filled, snow crystals form. The ice crystals form on dust particles as the water vapor condenses and partially melted crystals cling together to form snowflakes. As the snow crystals grow, they become heavier and fall towards Earth.

As the snowflakes move throughout the cloud, it crystallizes in different ways producing unpredictable shapes and sizes. When it’s very cold and snowing, the flakes are small, and when it’s closer to 32 degrees Fahrenheit, the flakes are larger.

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Want to know more about the kinds of snow crystals fall from the sky? Check out:

Thu Ha

February 14, 2002