Two weeks ago, in DYK The U.S. Began as a Nation of Tea Drinkers, I mentioned that winter had finally arrived in Texas. And arrive it has with lots of snow!

What Is Snow

Snow! The thing every Southern teacher and student longs to see when winter arrives. But what is it?

According to the University of Colorado’s National Snow and Ice Data Center, “Snow is precipitation that forms when water vapor freezes. Snow falls as ice crystals from clouds when temperatures drop below freezing and there is enough humidity in the air.” In other words, to make snow just mix moisture and freezing temperatures. Simple, right? Yes. And no.

When I lived in Tennessee, I only saw a handful of measurable snowfalls. Why? Because in certain areas of the country it isn’t always easy to get those two things—moisture and freezing temps—together. Nashville was often the dividing line. Sometimes the areas to the north got snow and no one else did. Other times it was the people living farther south who got it. It all depended on where the moisture and freezing temperatures met.

Did You Know…

• Scientists classify snow as a mineral because it’s a naturally occurring solid, inorganically formed, and has a definite chemical composition.
• Snow isn’t a good conductor of electricity. Lightning passes through it without causing harm.
• Snow isn’t white. It’s translucent (colorless), but the light reflecting off it makes it appear white.
• Snow can also be orange, blue, or watermelon pink if snow-loving, fresh-water algae is present. Dust particles and pollution can make it look black.
• Pollutants in the air lock onto snow as it falls. (Black carbon, from wood-burning stoves and coal-fired plants, is the most common pollutant.) But the longer it snows, the cleaner the air becomes and the cleaner the fresh snow is.
• “Thundersnow” is a snowstorm with thunder, lightning, and strong winds. It’s a rare phenomenon.
• Chionophobia is the fear of snow.

Snow Is Important

Snow is more than just for fun. The Earth needs snow. It’s an important part of the Earth’s seasonal cycle. Because its highly reflective, snow sends up to 80% of the sun’s light back into space. If it didn’t, the ground would absorb four to six times more heat than it does.

Snow is an essential source of drinking water for humans and animals alike. It acts as a “slow-release” water source as it melts.  The migration, hibernation, and even survival of many animals is impacted by snow.

Did You Know…

• More than any other land feature, snow—the amount or absence of it—directly influences the heating and cooling patterns of the Earth’s surface.
• The Old Farmer’s Almanac calls snow a “poor man’s fertilizer” because it provides the ground with nutrients, specifically nitrogen, as well as moisture.
• Fresh snow absorbs sound waves, dampening sound. The ice layer made from melted snow that refreezes reflects sound waves, helping sound travel farther and be clearer.
• Snow can dehydrate a person. It takes lots of the body’s energy to melt snow into water. That’s why people trying to survive in extremely cold and snowy conditions are told to melt the snow first before consuming it.
• Fresh, compacted snow is 90-95% trapped air (it can’t move or transfer heat), making it a great insulator. The air inside an igloo, using only a person’s body heat for warmth, can be 100 degrees warmer than outside.

Snowflake Facts

Each year, at least 1 septillion (1 + 24 zeros) snowflakes fall to earth. They can be made of one ice crystal or up to 200 ice crystals joined together. Snowflakes are divided into seven basic shapes: stars, needles, dendrites (branching treelike), plates, columns, columns capped with plates, and irregular (or damaged). In those seven basic shapes are 35 different sub-variations.

In 1885, photographer Wilson Bentley became the first person to photograph a snowflake. During his lifetime, he photographed over 5,000 snowflakes and never found two alike. This led to the belief that no two snowflakes are the same. Then, in 1988, Nancy Knight discovered two identical looking snowflakes. So, the belief that no two snowflakes are exactly the same is only partially true. Though two snowflakes can look alike, no two are probably exactly alike because they take different paths and collect different pollutants as they fall through the atmosphere.

Did You Know…

• In the early 17th century, Johannes Kepler first used the word “snowflake” to describe ice crystals.
• The shape of a snowflake is determined by the air temperature around it and the humidity conditions it falls through on its way to the ground.
• Most snowflakes fall at one to four miles per hour, but heavier and larger flakes can fall as fast as nine miles per hour. (The average speed of a raindrop is 20 miles per hour.)
• It usually takes about one hour for a snowflake to reach the ground.

Snowfall Records

Before this week, the last time a major snowstorm swept across Texas and Louisiana happened in 1895. At that time, Galveston received 15.4” of snow, Houston got up to 20”, and Beaumont was smothered with 28”. In Louisiana, Baton Rouge had 12.5” of snow, while Lafayette got 14”, and Lake Charles saw upwards of 22”. Actually, the 1895 storm dropped snow from Tampico, Mexico, along the Gulf Coast all the way to Pensacola, Florida.

Yes, snow in southeast Texas is rare, but it does happen. Since 1881, Houston has seen snow 94 times. Between 1900-1999, Galveston had 39 years with snow, eleven of them with measurable amounts. Even more amazing, Galveston and Brownsville, Texas, both recorded their first-ever (and probably only) white Christmas in 2004.

Did You Know…

• The largest snowfall in a 24-hour period in the U.S. happened back in 1921 when Silver Lake, CO recorded 75.8″ of snow.
• Mount Rainier in Washington State recorded the snowiest year in 1971. In that 365-day period, 102 feet of snow fell.
• The Guinness Book of World Records claims the world’s largest recorded snowflake fell at Fort Keogh, Montana, on January 27, 1887. It was 15″ across and 8″ thick.
• Alaska sees the most snowfall each year. Some locations receive over 600″ (50 feet) annually. On average, the town of Valdez gets about 300″ (25 feet) of snow annually.
• In places with high snowfall, like Valdez, fire hydrants are marked by sign poles so they can be quickly and easily found in the winter.
• In the continental U.S., Key West, FL, is the only place on record where it has never snowed.