File:CargoNet_Di_12_Euro_4000_Lønsdal_-_Bolna.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

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snow

Also known as snowfall, snowfalls

Snow consists of individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water throughout its life cycle, starting when, under suitable conditions, the ice crystals form in the atmosphere, increase to millimeter size, precipitate and accumulate on surfaces, then metamorphose in place, and ultimately melt, slide, or sublimate away.

AI overview

Snow is frozen water that forms as ice crystals in clouds, grows larger, and falls to accumulate on the ground, where it continues to change over time. It matters because it represents a significant part of Earth's water cycle, undergoing transformations from its initial crystalline formation through melting, sliding, or evaporation.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Key facts

Material.name: Snow
Material.image: CargoNet Di 12 Euro 4000 Lønsdal - Bolna.jpg
Material.caption: Norwegian train plowing through drifted snow
Material.density: 0.1–0.8 g/cm3
Material.tensile_strength: 1.5–3.5 kPa
Material.compressive_strength: 3–7 MPa
Material.melting_point: 0 °C
Material.thermal_conductivity_note: For densities 0.1 to 0.5 g/cm3
Material.thermal_conductivity: 0.05–0.7 W/(K·m)
Material.dielectric_constant_note: For dry snow density 0.1 to 0.9 g/cm3
Material.dielectric_constant: 1–3.2
Material.footnotes: The physical properties of snow vary considerably from event to event, sample to sample, and over time.
Material.image_size: 300px

via Wikipedia infobox

Research

21,551 papers

Snow Amplification of Persistent Organic Pollutants at Coastal Antarctica.Environmental science & technology · 2019Casal P, Casas G, Vila-Costa M et al.DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.9b03006
Visual Snow Syndrome and Its Relationship to Tinnitus.ReviewThe international tinnitus journal · 2017Renze MDOI: 10.5935/0946-5448.20170014
Ecological responses to variation in seasonal snow cover.ReviewConservation biology : the journal of the Society for Conservation Biology · 2022Slatyer RA, Umbers KDL, Arnold PADOI: 10.1111/cobi.13727
Visual Snow Syndrome: Proposed Criteria, Clinical Implications, and Pathophysiology.ReviewCurrent neurology and neuroscience reports · 2018Metzler AI, Robertson CEDOI: 10.1007/s11910-018-0854-2
Snow and ice ecosystems: not so extreme.ReviewResearch in microbiology · 2015Maccario L, Sanguino L, Vogel TM et al.DOI: 10.1016/j.resmic.2015.09.002
Unraveling the optical shape of snow.Nature communications · 2023Robledano A, Picard G, Dumont M et al.DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-39671-3
The genome of the Arctic snow alga Limnomonas spitsbergensis (Chlamydomonadales).G3 (Bethesda, Md.) · 2024Hulatt CJ, Suzuki H, Détain A et al.DOI: 10.1093/g3journal/jkae086
Snow flies self-amputate freezing limbs to sustain behavior at sub-zero temperatures.Current biology : CB · 2023Golding D, Rupp KL, Sustar A et al.DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.09.002

via PubMed

Wikidata facts

Image: Düsseldorf Hofgarten 2009.jpg

Show 4 more facts

Commons category: Snow
Commons gallery: Snow
Unicode character: ⁎
melting point: 0

Sources (6)

via Wikidata · CC0

~50 min read

Article

41 sections

Contents

Precipitation
Cloud formation
Low-pressure areas
Fronts
Lake and ocean effects
Mountain effects
Cloud physics
Classification of snowflakes
Accumulation
Event
Distribution
Records
Metamorphism
Seasonal
Firn
Movement
Drifting
Avalanche
Melting
Glaciers
Science
Measurement and classification
Satellite data
Models
Effects on civilization
Transportation
Highway
Aviation
Rail
Construction
Agriculture
Structures
Roofs
Utility lines
Sports and recreation
Warfare
Effects on plants and animals
Outside of Earth
See also
References
External links

Snowstorms organize and develop by feeding on sources of atmospheric moisture and cold air. Snowflakes nucleate around particles in the atmosphere by attracting supercooled water droplets, which freeze in hexagonal-shaped crystals. Snowflakes take on a variety of shapes, basic among these are platelets, needles, columns, and rime. As snow accumulates into a snowpack, it may blow into drifts. Over time, accumulated snow metamorphoses, by sintering, sublimation, and freeze-thaw. Where the climate is cold enough for year-to-year accumulation, a glacier may form. Otherwise, snow typically melts seasonally, causing runoff into streams and rivers and recharging groundwater.