Today was the first time we played in the snow for the first time Halifax Canada Nova Scotia. At point pleasant park we had loads of fun and yea trust me its nothing like what i had imagined it was even better. The actual exprence is much better than watching it on T.V. or reading in the books. We took of around 12 pm well it was totally cloudy and snowing a flurry all over the place. It was my first time seeing such a scenery. The perfectly shaped snow pallets fell from the sky. I actually used to imagine that is a snow flake actually the same shape they snow on cartoons or in movies. Well i proved the fact yes they actually are they are so perfectly shaped as though God had himself given them shape. We had to haul over the ice our feet kept sinking inside the snow cuz it was too deep. And after a short trek we reached the bridge near point pleasent park we made snow angels the snow was fresh soft and untouched . I have a video but i am sorry i am not going to show it here. Cuz i look like a gummy bear flapping his wings. Although i got a few photos enjoy.
I was going through a few articles on snow and well i really wanted to know what is snow really made up off well ofcourse i know whats it made up of water . But how does it become soo soft like cotton. You can actually squesh it and keep doing it its really really soft just like hot knife through butter. Me and my friend Adi actually fought in it lol he got me i was all covered in snow. Oh we made a snow man toooo .... His name is Snowy the snowman .... here are a few facts of snow i found on wiki pedia . Its quite interesting hope you enjoy reading it as much as i did. Have a lovely weekend peepz...!
- "Snowfall" redirects here. For other uses, see Snow (disambiguation) or Snowfall (disambiguation).
Snow is a type of precipitation in the form of crystalline water ice, consisting of a multitude of snowflakes that fall from clouds. The process of precipitation is called snowfall.
Since snow is composed of small ice particles, it is a granular material. It has an open and therefore soft structure, unless packed by external pressure. The METAR code for snow is SN.
Falling snow
- Blizzard
- A long-lasting snow storm with intense snowfall and usually high winds. Particularly severe storms can create whiteout conditions where visibility is reduced to less than 1 m.
- Columns
- A class of snow flakes that is shaped like a six sided column. One of the 4 classes of snow flakes.
- Dendrites
- A class of snow flakes that has 6 points, making it somewhat star shaped. The classic snow flake shape. One of the 4 classes of snow flakes.
- Flurry
- A period of light snow with usually little accumulation with occasional moderate snowfall.
- Freezing rain
- Supercooled rain that freezes on impact with a sufficiently cold surface. This can cover trees in a uniform layer of very clear, shiny ice – a beautiful phenomenon, though excessive accumulation can break tree limbs and utility lines, causing utility failures and possible property damage.
- Graupel
- Precipitation formed when freezing fog condenses on a snowflake, forming a ball of rime ice. Also known as snow pellets.
- Ground blizzard
- Occurs when a strong wind drives already fallen snow to create drifts and whiteouts.
- Hail
- Many-layered ice balls, ranging from "pea" sized (0.25 in, 6 mm) to "golf ball" sized (1.75 in, 43 mm), to, in rare cases, "softball" sized or greater (>4.25 in, 108 mm). Hail is associated with severe thunderstorms instead of winter weather.
- Hailstorm
- A storm of hail. If the hail is sufficiently large, it can cause damage to cars or even people.
- Lake effect snow
- Produced when cold winds move across long expanses of warmer lake water, picking up water vapor which freezes and is deposited on the lake's shores.
- Needles
- A class of snow flakes that are acicular in shape (their length is much longer than their diameter, like a needle). One of the 4 classes of snow flakes.
- Rain and snow mixed
- Precipitation consisting of both snow and rain; also called "wintry mix" or "wintry shower".
- Rimed snow
- Snow flakes that are partially or completely coated in tiny frozen water droplets called rime. Rime forms on a snow flake when it passes through a super-cooled cloud. One of the 4 classes of snow flakes.
- Sleet
- In Canada and Britain, rain mixed with snow; Some Americans also refer to this as sleet, while others refer to sleet as ice pellets formed when snowflakes pass through a layer of warm air, partially or completely thaw, then refreeze upon passing through sufficiently cold air during further descent.
- Snow pellets
- See graupel.
- Snow squall
- A brief, very intense snowstorm.
- Snow storm
- A long storm of relatively heavy snow.
- Soft hail
- See graupel.
- Thundersnow
- A thunderstorm which produces snow as the primary form of precipitation.
Snow on the ground
Image:Snowleaf.JPG
Snow covering a leaf
- Artificial snow
- Snow can be also manufactured using snow cannons, which actually create tiny granules more like soft hail (this is sometimes called "grits" by those in the southern U.S. for its likeness to the texture of the food). In recent years, snow cannons have been produced that create more natural-looking snow, but these machines are prohibitively expensive.
- Blowing snow
- Snow on ground that is being moved around by wind. See ground blizzard.
- Chopped powder
- Powder snow that has been cut up by previous skiers.
- Corn
- Coarse, granular wet snow. Most commonly used by skiers describing good spring snow. Corn is the result of diurnal cycle of melting and refreezing.
- Cornice
- An overhanging formation of windblown snow. Important in skiing and alpine climbing because the overhang can be unstable and hard to see from the leeward side.
- Crud
- This covers varieties of snow that all but advanced skiers find impassable. Subtypes are (a) windblown powder with irregularly shaped crust patches and ridges, (b) heavy tracked spring snow re-frozen to leave a deeply rutted surface strewn with loose blocks, (c) a deep layer of heavy snow saturated by rain (although this may go by another term). Crud is negotiated with a even weighting along the length of the skis, and smooth radius turns started, if necessary, with a pop or jump. When an advanced skier falls over on crud, it is probably because it is 'heavy crud', q.v.
- Crust
- A layer of snow on the surface of the snowpack that is stronger than the snow below, which may be powder snow. Depending on their thickness and resulting strength, crusts can be termed "supportable," meaning that they will support the weight of a human, "breakable," meaning that they will not, or "zipper," meaning that a skier can break and ski through the crust. Crusts often result from partial melting of the snow surface by direct sunlight or warm air followed by re-freezing.
- Depth Hoar
- Faceted snow crystals, usually poorly or completely unbonded (unsintered) to adjacent crystals, creating a weak zone in the snowpack. Depth hoar forms from metamorphism of the snowpack in response to a large temperature gradient between the warmer ground beneath the snowpack and the surface. The relatively high porosity (percentage of air space), relatively warm temperature (usually near freezing point), and unbonded weak snow in this layer can allow various organisms to live in it.
- Finger Drift
- A narrow snow drift(1-3 feet in width) crossing a roadway. Several finger drifts in succession resemble the fingers of a hand.
- Heavy crud
- See 'Crud'.
- Ice
- Densely packed material formed from snow that doesn't contain air bubbles. Depending on the snow accumulation rate, the air temperature, and the weight of the snow in the upper layers, it can take snow a few hours or a few decades to form into ice.
- Firn
- Snow which has been lying for at least a year but which has not yet consolidated into glacier ice. It is granular.
- Packed Powder
- The most common snow cover on ski slopes, consisting of powder snow that has lain on the ground long enough to become compressed, but is still loose.
- Packing snow
- Snow that is at or near the melting point, so that it can easily be packed into snowballs and hurled at other people or objects. This is perfect for snow fights and other winter fun, such as making a snowman, or a snow fort.
- Penitentes
- Tall blades of snow found at high altitudes.
- Pillow Drift
- A snow drift crossing a roadway and usually 10-15 feet in width and 1-3 three feet in depth.
- Powder
- Freshly fallen, uncompacted snow. The density and moisture content of powder snow can vary widely; snowfall in coastal regions and areas with higher humidity is usually heavier than a similar depth of snowfall in an arid or continental region. Light, dry (low moisture content, typically 4 - 7% water content) powder snow is prized by skiers and snowboarders. It is often found in the Rocky Mountains of North America and in Niseko, Japan.
- Slush
- Snow which partially melts upon reaching the ground, to the point that it accumulates in puddles of partially-frozen water.
- Snirt
- Snow covered with dirt, which occurs most often in Spring, in Prairie States like North Dakota, where strong winds pick up black topsoil from uncovered farm fields and blow it into nearby towns where the melt rate is slower. The phenomenon is almost magical; one goes to sleep with white snow outside and awakens to black snow. Also, snow that is dirty, often seen by the side of roads and parking lots near areas that have been plowed.
- Snowdrift
- Large piles of snow which occur near walls and curbs, as the wind tends to push the snow up toward the vertical surfaces.
- Surface Hoar
- Faceted, corn-flake shaped snow crystals that are a type of frost that forms on the surface of the snow pack on cold, clear, calm nights. Subsequent snow fall can bury layers of surface hoar encorporating them into the snowpack where they can form a weak layer. Sometimes referred to as hoar frost.
- Watermelon snow
- A reddish/pink colored snow that smells like watermelons, and is caused by a red colored green algae called Chlamydomonas nivalis.
- Wind slab
- A layer of relatively stiff, hard snow formed by deposition of wind blown snow on the leeward side of a ridge or other sheltered area. Wind slabs can form over weaker, softer freshly fallen powder snow creating an avalanche hazard on steep slopes.
