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How is snow formed? [infographic]

“The first fall of snow is not only an event, but it is a magical event. You go to bed in one kind of world and wake up to find yourself in another quite different, and if this is not enchantment, then where is it to be found?”
–‘First Snow’ by J. B. Priestley

Every winter the child inside us hopes for snow. It brings with it the potential for days off work and school, the chance to make snowmen, create snow angels on the ground, and have snowball fights with anyone that might happen to walk past. If you’re lucky there might even be enough to go skiing and snowboarding.

But as the snow falls, have you ever wondered how it is formed? What goes on in the clouds high above our heads to make these snowflakes come to life? Snow feels like a “magical event” but the science behind it is fascinating.

ORO Winter Snow Lifecycle v3.indd

Download the graphic as a PDF or JPG.

Looking for more information about snow? Why not read the articles that have been used to create the graphic above: Encyclopedia of Climate and Weather, A Dictionary of Environment and Conservation, A Dictionary of Geography, A Dictionary of Weather.

Featured image credit: ‘Snow Field’ by Nick Mealey. CC BY 2.0 via Flickr.

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