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What happens inside a cloud?
Micro-scale Processes - Snow Formation The shape of a snowflake depends on the temperature and the humidity of the cloud it forms in. When snowflakes form in air with high moisture content, they tend to encounter more ice crystals and/or water vapor and form large, soggy snowflakes with indistinct shapes and patterns. The most common snowflake form is a fernlike branching star shape called a dendrite. These form at temperatures between -16 and -12 C (3 to 10 F), and they grow more rapidly than other crystals, which is why they are the most common. In drier conditions, ice crystals grow into a variety of shapes. Thin plates and stars grow in two temperature ranges: near -2 C (28 F) and near -15 C (5 F). Columns and needles grow near -5 C (23 F). A combination of plates and columns are made around -30 C (-22 F).
Next page -> Micro-scale processes - hail formation Links and resources
Micro-scale Processes - Snow Formation The shape of a snowflake depends on the temperature and the humidity of the cloud it forms in. When snowflakes form in air with high moisture content, they tend to encounter more ice crystals and/or water vapor and form large, soggy snowflakes with indistinct shapes and patterns. The most common snowflake form is a fernlike branching star shape called a dendrite. These form at temperatures between -16 and -12 C (3 to 10 F), and they grow more rapidly than other crystals, which is why they are the most common. In drier conditions, ice crystals grow into a variety of shapes. Thin plates and stars grow in two temperature ranges: near -2 C (28 F) and near -15 C (5 F). Columns and needles grow near -5 C (23 F). A combination of plates and columns are made around -30 C (-22 F).
Next page -> Micro-scale processes - hail formation Links and resources
