Tuesday Tidbit

By FederalDaily Staff

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Snowflakes are really 7 general forms of ice crystals

Snowflakes are really ice crystals in various patterns.

According to the International Commission on Snow and Ice, snowflakes have these general forms:

  1. Plates
  2. Stellar crystals
  3. Columns
  4. Needles
  5. Spatial dendrites
  6. Capped columns
  7. Irregular forms

Some snowflake researchers use 35 shapes.

The most snowfall within 24 hours in the U.S. was 63 inches and occurred in Georgetown, Colorado on December 4, 1913.


Source: Fun Facts about Winter

Posted by Jeff Rae on Dec 20, 2011 at 6:16 AM