By Jennifer Outcelt, Creative Content Architect
It seems obvious that any Alaskan resident would be highly familiar with the fluffy, cold, and magical substance known as “snow”. It surrounds us for approximately 42 months out of the year (or at least that’s how it feels) and is literally everywhere; on our cars, in our yards, on our hiking trails, and sometimes in our homes if we have young kids. But the last time you looked up at the cloudy sky to watch the tiny flakes fall down, did you wonder, “how the heck does snow even happen?”
Sure, you might have learned in 4th grade about the water cycle and maybe about snow more specifically. But could you win Jeopardy! with a question about snow? I know there is “snow” way I could. And neither could my mom when I asked her about snow formation the other day while driving. We were both stumped and a bit ashamed of our knowledge gap. I didn’t want to google it because I was pretty sure it would knock a few experience points off my Alaskan resident card. However, vanity be dammed, I googled it anyway. I had to know the what, when, where, how, why of snow.
I found a very informative, yet concise, website explaining how snow becomes snow and it definitely blew my mind. The world is amazing, and I have a new appreciation for my Alaskan winter landscape. Enjoy this read and I hope the magic of snow blows your mind the next time you’re snow blowing your driveway.
https://sciencing.com/barometric-pressure-snowstorms-23207.html
