The second way to grow a snowflake is to form branches. Not surprisingly, this is what creates those beautiful tree-like structures. Branches form because water vapor will condense on the first thing it touches.
The process repeats itself and a branch is formed! While the snowflake generally starts as a prism with six facets, its growth can switch back and forth between creating facets and forming branches. And both processes can occur at the same time. Nearly imperceptible changes in temperature and the amount of water in the air change how the molecules act and how they condense.
Imagine a growing snowflake in a cloud. As it blows back and forth, it experiences all sorts of changing conditions. There are different temperatures and moisture levels in different parts of the cloud. There are also different conditions at the microscopic level. The order in which it experiences those changes and how long each set of conditions lasts determines the shape it makes.
How likely would it be for two snowflakes to experience the same exact of conditions all the way down to the microscopic level? Astronomically unlikely! Individual snow crystals are small, but sometimes they stick together and create much larger snowflakes, like in the video clip above. These larger aggregates occur when temperatures are near freezing 32 degrees , which melts some of the snow crystals and causes them to become sticky.
As the snow crystals fall, they collide with other snow crystals, causing them to grow in size and appear as larger snowflakes once they get closer to the ground.
Light winds also help in the formation of larger snowflakes since stronger winds can break them apart as they fall. There is no routine method for documenting the size of snowflakes in a winter storm, but sometimes they can measure 2 inches across , the National Snow and Ice Data Center says. On rare occasions, snowflakes as large as dinner plates have been observed , according to Kenneth G. Libbrecht, a professor of physics at the California Institute of Technology. When temperatures are much below freezing, the snowflakes falling from the sky are smaller in size.
Although there was some heavy snow, the flakes were generally smaller. Instead of it being a two foot plus snow last week, it was generally a six to 12 inch snow. What's the biggest snowflake ever observed? I'll bet the snowfall forecast was wrong that day.
If you have any questions, ask them below. He's been chief meteorologist at three television news stations in Michigan, and he's an avid gardener and hunter. Email him at mtorregr mlive. Note to readers: if you purchase something through one of our affiliate links we may earn a commission.
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