18 Amazing Facts About Snowflakes and Why They're So Unique

Source：AZ Animals Time：January 4, 2024

We’ve all heard the adage that no two snowflakes are alike. However, is this really true? In 2007, the thought that this might be more myth than truth blossomed into stories and articles from universities and scientists. What these stories revealed, though, was that snowflakes can be grouped by similarities in their patterns. It didn’t necessarily provide proof that no two snowflakes are alike. In this article, we dive into 18 amazing facts about snowflakes and why they’re so unique.

1. Snowflakes Are Composed of Ice Crystals

18 Amazing Facts About Snowflakes and Why They're So Unique — The molecular makeup of ice crystals varies greatly from one crystal to another.
©Dennis Alp/Shutterstock.com

Ice crystals are symmetrical or patterned because their internal order echoes the arrangement of water molecules in prearranged spaces. This process, known as crystallization, creates hexagonal snowflakes. The differences in these arrangements make each snowflake unique.

2. Snowflakes Have Three Basic Ingredients

Water vapor freezes on a tiny speck of dust, which may come from volcanic ash, plants, or even meteors. When clouds get cold enough to form snow, water droplets attach themselves to the ice crystals, forming even bigger crystals. When these ice crystals join together, they form snowflakes.

3. Most Snowflakes Are Hexagonal

Billions of water molecules make up each snowflake. At the very center, six water molecules bind together and form a hexagon. Therefore, these six water molecules dictate the six-sided shape of most snowflakes.

4. Snowflakes Are Often Actually Snow Crystals

When we think about snowflakes, we’re often thinking about bigger puffballs that have descended from the clouds. Consequently, many individual snow crystals constitute the makeup of these snowflakes. When we visualize the intricate pattern of a single flake, we are actually envisioning a snow crystal.

5. There is a Bentley Snow Crystal Collection

Wilson Alwyn Bentley was a snow crystal aficionado. Born in 1865 in Vermont, his fascination with snow crystals began with the microscope his mother gave him for his 15th birthday. When his interest evolved into snow crystal photography, he became the first person to create a photomicrograph of a snow crystal. The Buffalo Museum of Science now houses his collection of photography for all to enjoy.

6. There is a Crazy Number of Snow Crystals That Fall Each Winter

During each winter, we can expect about one septillion snow crystals to descend to the ground. That’s a trillion trillion, or one followed by 24 zeroes.

7. Snow Crystals’ Shapes Depend on the Temperature

There are more shapes and patterns in ice crystals than many realize. Stellar dendrites are the six-sided star-shaped crystals most of us are familiar with. Those occur when the weather is about 5°F. However, columnar snow crystals form when the temperature is a bit warmer — about 21°F. Variations in temperature and humidity can produce other shapes as well, including capped columns, fernlike dendrites, and even triangular or twelve-branched snow crystals.

8. There is a Phobia Related to Snowflakes

While some people plunge into the winter season with gusto, others feel a sense of dread. Those who suffer from chionophobia — a type of environmental phobia — feel an irrational fear of snow or severe weather forecasts often linked to a fear of bodily harm or death.

9. Snow Can Be Pink or Red

A type of snow known as pink snow, red snow, or blood snow is caused by an algae called Chlamydomonasnivalis. This particular snow is also referred to as watermelon snow due to a faint watermelon smell. However, it’s not safe to eat because of the color-causing algae.

10. NASA Has Observed Snowfall on Mars

While parts of Siberia dip below -80°F, which is at times comparable to or even colder than that of Mars, they don’t share the same type of snowfall. Mars’ atmosphere holds carbon dioxide clouds, causing carbon dioxide snow to fall to the planet’s surface.

11. Not All Snowflakes Are Symmetrical

Since the six arms of snow crystals grow independently of each other, they do end up with similar shapes. However, the conditions under which they grow are changing randomly throughout their fall to the ground. That’s why, although they look symmetrical, the vast majority of snow crystals are asymmetrical.

12. Each Snowflake Follows a Unique Path to the Ground

As snowflakes travel from the sky to the ground, they encounter slightly different atmospheric conditions along the way. As a result, they all tend to look unique, resembling everything from prisms to needles.

13. Snowflakes Aren’t Really White

While snowflakes look white to us, they are actually clear. Though not transparent, the ice crystals that form them are translucent. Therefore, light passes through them indirectly. Since ice crystals have many faces, they reflect the entire light spectrum, making snowflakes appear white.

14. Snow Used to Look Gray

Back when coal mining was prevalent, snow looked gray. The snow crystals’ translucence took on the coloration of the coal dust, which was also absorbed by the clouds.

15. The World’s Largest Snowflake Was 15 Inches Wide!

In January of 1887, a rancher in Montana found a snowflake measuring 15 inches in width and eight inches in thickness. Although it’s recorded as the largest snowflake on record in the Guinness Book of World Records, there are no photographs to record the event.

16. Snowflakes Take Their Time Falling to Earth

In a storm or blizzard, the snow seems to come at you at an alarming rate. It may feel as though snow is pelting you in the face. In truth, snowflakes only travel about three to four miles an hour. However, the wind makes them seem to travel faster.

17. Most of Our Freshwater Supply is in Ice or Snow

With over 96% of the earth’s water being salty ocean water, that leaves only slightly more than 3% freshwater. Of that small percent, almost 70% is frozen in ice caps and glaciers.

18. The Probability of Two Snowflakes Being Alike is Essentially Zero

Although it’s not impossible to find two alike snowflakes, the chances are one in one-followed-by-768-zeros. With the septillion snowflakes that fall each year, you’d be hard-pressed to sort through each one to find twin snowflakes. Since snowflake floats through clouds that differ both in moisture content and temperature, each one follows a different path to the ground. As a result of these variables, each snowflake is unique.

Summary of Amazing Facts About Snowflakes

Number	Amazing Fact
1.	Snowflakes are made up of ice crystals.
2.	They are made from three basic ingredients: ice crystals, water vapor, and dust.
3.	All snowflakes are hexagonal.
4.	Snowflakes are actually snow crystals.
5.	There is a Bentley Snow Crystal Collection in the Buffalo Museum of Science
6.	About a septillion ice crystals fall each winter.
7.	Snow crystals get their shape from the temperature and humidity conditions outside.
8.	Chionophobia is a fear of snow or severe weather forecasts.
9.	Watermelon snow is pink or red and smells like watermelons.
10.	NASA has observed carbon dioxide snowfall on Mars.
11.	Not all snowflakes are symmetrical.
12.	Each snowflake follows a unique path to the ground.
13.	Snowflakes are really translucent, not white.
14.	Snow often had a grayish look when coal production was widespread.
15.	The world’s largest snowflake was 15 inches wide and 8 inches thick.
16.	Snowflakes fall from the sky at an average speed. of three to four miles per hour.
17.	Almost 70% of our freshwater sources are frozen and come from ice or snow.
18.	The probability of two snowflakes being alike is one in one followed by 768 zeros.