Snow: The Cold, Fluffy Facts

It's that time of year again: the time when Christmas shoppers go crazy at Wal-Mart, and families get together for those awkward reunions they'll remember forever. The atmosphere: warm and cozy, with Santa dolls and singing elves decking the halls, and hot cocoa and eggnog decking the tables. But who could ever forget the best part of the winter holidays? We all know it, and we all love the days we get off school because of it. But how much do we really know about good old snow?

Here are some facts to help us learn more about the flurries that pop in and out for half the year.

1. You've heard the saying: no two snowflakes have the same shape. Actually, there have been two (only two!) snowflakes documented with exactly the same shape, size, and color consistency. Identical! Now, when someone tells you that cliched line, you can set them straight!

2. Snowflakes start as ice crystals barely the size of a speck of dust. They form when those crystals fall and join with other crystals to create snowflakes of all different shapes and sizes (except two!)

3. There are 7 basic shapes for snowflakes: A neddle, hexagonal plate, irregular column, stellar plate, hexagonal column, spatial dendrites, and capped columns.

4. Logic makes us think that it has to be super cold for it to snow. In reality, it can get cold enough that it doesn't snow. Because snow is frozen water, if there aren't enough water droplets in the air, it can't snow.

5. In the early 1900's, skiers created their own terminology to describe types of snow, including the terms "fluffy snow," "powder snow," and "sticky snow." Later, the terminology expanded to include descriptive terms such as "champagne powder," "corduroy," and "mashed potatoes."

Now, with your new found knowledge of the fluffy ice, you can go out and sled with the comfort of knowing 5 more facts about snow.

Leah Sloan