SNOW

Precipitation in the form of snow occurs when particles of
ice are large enough to reach the ground.

Precipitation Chart

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What is Snow?

Snow has a chemical composition of water (H20)

Snow is basically made up of crystals of frozen water (ICE).) Snow is ice crystals and ice crystals have six points. However, one snowflake can consist of multiple crystals. Temperatures must be below freezing (0 Celsius or 32 Fahrenheit) for snow to form.

Snow continues to challenge weather experts. It is still very difficult to predict and is surprisingly hard to measure once it has fallen

Snowflakes are made of ice crystals. Each snowflake is six-sided and made of as many as 200 ice crystals. Snowflakes form in clouds where the temperature is below freezing. The ice crystals form around tiny bits of dirt that has been carried up into the atmosphere by the wind. As the snow crystals grow, they become heavier and fall toward the ground.

Snow is useful because when it melts, it fills rivers and dams. Because it melts slowly, snow doesn't usually cause flooding. Snow is also fun. People ski on it and play in it.

However, snow can be dangerous for farm animals when it is very heavy, and difficult to walk through. It covers the food they eat and freezes the water. Snow is dangerous for traffic when it piles up on the roads. It can be very dangerous as an avalanche. An avalanche is a large mass of snow that slips down a mountain. People have been killed by avalanches.

SNOW RESEARCH

All About Snow

Everything You Want to Know About Snow

Winter Weather

Clouds

Snow Crystals

EXPERIMENTS

Make your own snowflakes