0 Snowflakes

Even if you're not around here (Washington DC area), I gather several folks have heard about our weather.  Having been reminded by JG that not everybody has seen snow, I caught some video of the flakes in action.  And being reminded of Nakaya's work on ice crystal types, I have a still that attempts to catch a few snow crystals.

Snow crystals on my coat sleeve:

Be sure to click on that to see full size.  One thing to notice, aside from the fact that many have already melted, is that most are little needles.  Some of the needles have clumped together, like the one near the loose thread in the middle of the photo.  If you look carefully, you can see that the needles have little balls on their ends. The little balls are liquid water cloud droplets that froze instantly onto the needles as the needles fell through the cloud.  It's called riming, even as it happens to a single snow crystal. (Riming is a serious hazard for aircraft taking off or landing in near-freezing conditions.)

Morning snow (small snowflakes):


Afternoon snow (bigger snowflakes):


Enjoy.