Snow

SOURCE: https://www.farmersalmanac.com/how-many-words-snow-16650

I think we can all agree that snow is a four-letter word.

Whether you love it or dislike it, the appearance of snow here in December is nearly a foregone conclusion.

December is Albany’s snowiest month. Also, many of the city’s days with the heaviest snowfall total has occurred in December.  For example, two of the city’s top five snowstorm totals occurred in December:

A snow plow left a car covered in snow in front of Rain-Bo Room of Kenmore Hotel
in Albany on Dec. 27, 1969. Jack Pinto/Times Union Historic Images
https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/albany-s-10-biggest-snowstorms-17834936.php

• #3:  26.4 inches that fell between December 25-28, 1969, and
• #4:  24.7 inches that fell between December 13-15, 1915.

Interestingly, it has been a rare occurrence here since 1885 when the first snowfall of any given year occurred as late as any day in December.

What is snow?

When temperatures drop below 0°C (32°F) and there is sufficient humidity in the atmosphere, water vapor condenses directly into ice without going through the liquid stage. Once an ice crystal has formed, it absorbs and freezes additional water vapor from the surrounding air, growing into a snow crystal or snow pellet, which then falls to Earth.

Snow falls in several forms:

• Snowflakes are clusters of ice crystals that fall from a cloud.
• Snow pellets, or graupel, are opaque ice particles in the atmosphere. They form as ice crystals fall through supercooled cloud droplets, which are below freezing but remain a liquid. The cloud droplets then freeze to the crystals, forming a lumpy mass. Graupel tends to be soft and crumbly.
• Sleet is composed of drops of rain or drizzle that freeze into ice as they fall, and is sometimes called a wintery mix of rain and snow. These small, translucent balls of ice are usually smaller than 1/3 inch in diameter. Official weather observations may list sleet as ice pellets. In some parts of the United States, the term sleet can refer to a mixture of ice pellets and freezing rain.

How many words for snow?  Read on.

View the science of snowflakes.

View a slideshow of photographs of snowflakes.

A sampling of my photographs featuring snow from my curious point of view:

Snow Globe – North Woods Nature Preserve

Late Bloomer – Snow-coated bloom of Common Witch-hazel (Hamamelis virginiana)

Canopy Draped in Lace – Ushers Road State Forest

First Light on First Snow:  Flocked Forest

First Snow – Ushers Road State Forest

As another year flames out…

New Year’s Eve Twilight

View of St. Regis Mountain (part of Adirondack Mountains)
from Heron Marsh trail at Visitor Interpretive Center near Paul Smiths, NY

River Otter (Lontra canadensis) slide – Vischer Ferry Nature and Historic Preserve

Tables with scenic views…no waiting… – Mohawk Landing Nature Preserve

May you find yourself mesmerized by the next gentle snowfall – happy viewing!