Snowy Fun Facts

Snowy Fun Facts

I woke up on Sunday, jumped out of bed and pulled up the shade to peek outside at the sky. After a couple of days of “Bluebird” skies, it looked as though some clouds were beginning to accumulate. Of course, I grabbed my phone and confirmed that there was more snow on the horizon. It got me thinking about snow and how magical it is to watch. I enjoyed learning some fun facts about snow and thought y’all might enjoy them too!

1. Snow is not white.

The ‘white stuff’ isn’t actually white, but rather translucent. It’s the light reflecting off it that makes it appear white with the many sides of the snowflake scattering light in many directions, diffusing the entire colour spectrum.

2. Snowflakes come in many shapes and designs.

One of the determining factors in the shape of individual snowflakes is the air temperature around it. The study of flakes has identified that long, thin needle-like ice crystals form at around -2 C (28 F), while a lower temperature of -5 C (23 F) will lead to very flat plate-like crystals. Further changes in temperature as the snowflake falls determines different shapes of the six arms or dendritic structure of the crystal. In fact, 35 different types of snowflakes have been catalogued!

3. Dirty Snowflake?

Snowflakes form around one single particle whether that’s a speck of dust or a piece of pollen.

4.How big can a snowflake get?

The biggest snowflake ever reported was 15 inches across.

5. The Silence of Snow.

Freshly fallen snow absorbs sound waves, giving everything a seemingly hushed, quieter ambience after a flurry. But if the snow then melts and refreezes, the ice can reflect sound waves making sound travel further and clearer.

There are more fun facts about snow for you to check out. Here is the link:

https://www.bbcearth.com/news/17-surprising-facts-about-snow

So this week when the snow falls, enjoy it thinking about how unique, wonderful and magical an experience it is to watch the snow fall!

-Kristy Schlopy-Harrigan