February 7: Blanket of Snow

I've never been a huge fan of snow. Growing up in Wisconsin, I experienced a LOT of snow. I remember one time we had so much snow in Beloit, WI that there were literally walls of snow on the downtown streets and mountains in the parking lots because there was no more room to plow it anywhere. I think I mostly don't like snow because I don't like winter in general because I don't like being cold. 

But as I've gotten older, I've come to at least appreciate the winter, and on occasion, even delight in it. I very much appreciate the cycle of the seasons. Winter gives me a reprieve from disgusting bugs and exhausting heat (especially after this past summer's flea infestation and stink bug plague.) And I have very much come to delight in the beauty of winter, especially after a fresh snowfall. We got about 6 inches of snow on Sunday, and it was absolutely gorgeous. The snowflakes were huge and seemingly neverending. And the result was this amazing blanket over the world. I especially delight in the way the snow covers the trees. It's just so beautiful. 

So of course, I had to do some googling about snow. Here are some delightful facts:

How a snowflake forms: Each flake nucleates around a tiny particle (like dust or salt) in supersaturated air masses by attracting supercooled cloud water droplets, which freeze and accrete in crystal form. 

Snowflake shapes: Each flake has a little spark of individuality. No matter how many billions of them fall from the sky, there are never two the same. This was discovered in 1885 after scientist Wilson Bentley devised a clever way of attaching his camera to a microscope so he could take photographs of snowflakes in greater detail than ever before. 

Snowflake classification: Even though each snowflake is unique, snowflakes were categorized in eight broad classifications in 1951 by the International Commission on Snow and Ice.

1. Stellar Dendrites- Star-shaped, with six symmetrical branch-like arms with random sidebranches (most common in art).

2. Sectored Plates- Like stellar dendrites but the arms are less like branches and more like flattened plates and don't have sidebranches. 

3. Hollow Columns- A cylindrical column of hexagonal crystals like a hollow wooden pencil. (most common in nature). 

4. Capped Columns- Like hollow columns but with caps on each end, makes it look a spool.

5. Needles- Like hollow column, but much longer and thinner like a needle, sometimes with branches. 

6. Spatial Dendrites- a jumble of different types of crystals with randomly oriented branches.

7. Rimed Crystals- snowflakes that pick up a lot more snow crystals and almost turn into fat little balls. 

8. Irregulars- the miscellaneous category

Shape formation: Complex shapes emerge as the flake moves through differing temperature and humidity zones in the atmosphere; these conditions affect what shape the flake will be. 

If humidity is low, there isn’t as much water vapor in the atmosphere so the snowflakes form plates.

If humidity is high, with more water vapor in the atmosphere, branches are formed.

The lowest temperatures create columns, while the highest temperatures create branches. 

---

As I look out my window, the trees and ground are still blanketed in snow, and it is delightful. We are also expecting even more snow, for better or for worse. Maybe it will soon be time for a nice snowshoeing trek in the woods. 

With delight,

♥Jamie