Facts about snow and snowflakes

2 Estimated maximum length, in inches, of a typical snowflake.
3.4 Average speed, in miles per hour, of a falling snowflake.

6 The number of sides that most snowflakes have.

1,140 Inches of snowfall on Washington's Mount Baker in 1998, the world record for a year's snow accumulation.

30 Temperature colder (degrees Celsius) that an Arctic bird's feet may be than the rest of his body, to prevent heat loss.

23 The percentage of snow cover that may occasionally cover the Earth's land surface.

37 Feet 7 inches, greatest depth of snow on the ground, recorded March 1911 at Tamarac, California

102 Feet, 0.5 inches, greatest snowfall amount in 12 months, Feb 1971 to Feb 1972 at Paradise, Mt. Rainier, Washington.

63 Inches, the most snowfall in one 24 hour period at Georgetown, Colorado in 1913.

430 Average amount of snow in inches per year that falls at Stampede Pass, Washington. It's known as the snow capital of the United States.

300,000 Cubic yards of snow a large avalanche can potentially release.

Firn is snow that has survived for at least one year on the ground.


Make a snowflake grow!


A bit of snow science:
Snow is composed of small crystals of frozen water. These crystals form by condensation of atmospheric water vapor around tiny particles (most commonly silicate minerals or sea salt). As these individual crystals of ice fall through the atmosphere they cluster together and form snowflakes. At temperatures below -40 degrees C water can solidify spontaneously without the need for foreign particles.
The shapes of snow crystals depends primarily on the temperature of formation and to a lesser extent the atmospheric humidity. The size of a snow crystal depends mainly on the moisture content of the air.
The majority of snow crystals occur in a hexagonal, or six-sided, form as a result of the arrangement of oxygen atoms within the crystals.
For more snow science