Fun Snowflake Facts
Snowflakes aren’t frozen water: Contrary to popular belief, snowflakes aren’t simply frozen water. Frozen water is actually sleet. Snowflakes are formed when water droplets freeze in the clouds, and then are dispersed in snow.
All snowflakes are hexagons: As water vapor condenses on the ice particles, the formation stretches into a hexagonal prism. Branches then shoot off from the center in highly intricate ways, each one is unique and complex. The temperature and moisture of the clouds affect the shape of each snowflake.
Snowflakes can get really big: The biggest snowflake ever recorded was in Fort Keogh, Montana. It fell on January 28, 1887, and was 15 inches wide and 8 inches thick. Talk about a big snowflake fact. Matt Coleman, who found it, said it was “larger than milk pans.”
Temperature is important: It’s the cold that determines the ultimate shape. When the temperature is extremely cold, the snow is fine and more powder-like. This keeps the design simpler, typically needle or rod-shape. Closer to freezing, snowflakes get larger and much more complex in design.
Every snowflake is unique: The designs are so intricate that it is nearly impossible for two snowflakes to be exactly the same. Even if you looked at every snowflake ever made, you wouldn’t find two the exact same.
Snowflakes are reflective: While snow looks white, it is actually clear. It only looks white because of how light reflects off of the ice crystals.
Humans depend on snowflakes: Nearly 80% of the fresh water on earth comes from melted snow and ice. This is what keeps us humans alive and healthy, so we should be more thankful to snowflakes!
They start small: When a snowflake starts, it is only a tiny ice crystal. It grows as water vapor from the atmosphere freezes into the crystal. The ultimate size of the snowflake depends on how many ice crystals bond together, and how big they are.