Weather & seasons · Ice crystals
How does snow form?
Puschel wants to greet every flake. The first is already too quick.
The short answer
Ice crystals grow in cold clouds. They can join into snowflakes and fall. Snow reaches the ground if it does not melt completely on the way.
An imagined Wusel scene
Puschel and Flauschi investigate
A flake lands on Puschel’s fur and soon disappears. Puschel“My guest was very shy.” Flauschi smiles. Flauschi“Perhaps it was simply too warm here.”
They stay on a safe, level path. Fresh snow gathers at the edge. Puschel watches rather than trying to hold a flake.
Puschel“I will greet the next one with a look,” he says. Flauschi nods. Their winter discovery stays calm and gentle.
Little Wusel quiz
Must every snowflake look like a perfect star?
Show answer
No. Ice crystals and snowflakes can have different shapes.
Word help
- crystal
- A solid with tiny building blocks arranged in a regular pattern.
Explore in more detail
Here you will find longer explanations and further details. You can explore them together.
Understand step by step
How it works – simply explained
Ice grows in a cloud
Sufficiently cold clouds form growing ice crystals. Temperature and moisture affect their shapes.
Crystals can join
Several may combine into a snowflake. Not every flake resembles a neatly drawn six-armed star.
The route matters
Warmer air may partly or fully melt it. Snow reaches the ground only without complete melting. Ground temperature alone does not explain the whole journey.
References for this explanation: [1]
The key points again
Discover
Snow forms from ice crystals in clouds. Crystals can join into snowflakes.
Understand
Snow reaches the ground if it does not melt completely on the way. It can therefore snow slightly above zero degrees Celsius.
Connections
Not every flake is a large perfect star. Crystals and flakes have many shapes.