Snow and Snowstorms

Snow is always seen during the winter. Kids like to make snowman and I myself haven’t gotten to experience snow.  In the United States snow is seen up in the north.  Even northern Arizona sees snow. Snow is frozen water that falls from the sky. All snow flakes have six sides, but no two snow flakes are the same. Snow is precipitation in the form of small white ice crystals. Snow is formed from the water vapor in the air at a temperature of less than 32 degrees Fahrenheit.

As snow looks harmless there are other things that are caused by snow and wind together. A snowstorm is when snow falls from the sky as precipitation. A blizzard is the worst kind of snowstorm, in which strong winds blow snow into snowdrifts (huge piles) that can bury people and possessions. Its official definition is a tempestuous, frigid snow storm with blustery, piercing winds of 35 miles per hour or more and a wind-chill factor as low as -20º Fahrenheit. Transportation is difficult and dangerous during blizzards because air temperatures can be 10ºF or lower, with visibility less than 400-500 feet. When there is no much snow that people and animals cannot tell the earth from the sky, it is known as a whiteout. In this disoriented state, humans and livestock can lose their way and freeze to death. Blizzards carry the risk of hypothermia, frost bite, suffocation, and being stranded. Sub-zero temperatures, arctic conditions, and 100 mph winds in mountainous regions pose additional threats. Snowstorms happen when a mass of very cold air moves away from the Polar Regions. When it collides with a warm air mass, the warm air rises quickly and the cold air cuts underneath it. This causes a huge cloud bank to form, leading to heavy snowfall. Snow will only fall from the cloud if the temperature of the air between the bottom of the cloud and the ground is below 40ºF. A higher temperature will cause the snowflakes to melt as they fall through the air, turning them into rain or sleet. Snowflakes form when ice crystals collide in a cloud and stick together. Every snowflake has six sides, and no two snowflakes that fall are exactly alike. Their varying shapes are a result of the different weather conditions in which they are produced. Needle and rod shapes are formed by cold air, while warmer air results to more complicated patterns.