Untitled Document
 It's
getting colder and colder. Yes, winter is coming! Many people don't
like cold winter. But most kids love winter. This is because we have
lots and lots of snow in winter! We can have a lot of fun on snowy days. We can have a
snowball fight with our friends.
We can also make a huge snowman! Yes, everyone loves
snow. But wait. Do you know what snowflakes are?
Snowflakes are very beautiful. But did you know that no two snowflakes
are exactly alike? Some look like pointy stars and some look
like a flower with six simple petals. But how are all these
unique and lovely snowflakes
formed?
Strange as it may seem, the creation of a clean, white
snowflake starts with a tiny speck of dust or dirt that
has been carried up into the atmosphere by the wind. Ice
collects around the soil
speck and a snow crystal is formed. Snow
crystals later combine to make snowflakes.
Snow crystals form in four basic shapes: a long needle, a long and
hollow six-sided prism, a thin and flat six-sided plate, and a complex six-pointed star.
The shape of the snow crystal is determined by temperature.
 The six-sided
prism is formed in the highest clouds where the temperature is -1
degree C. Star shaped crystals
are formed if the cloud temperature is from -16 to -12 degrees C.
The flat, six-sided plates appear in -12~-7 degrees
C and reappear in temperatures
of -2~0 degrees C. The long needle is formed from -5~-3 degrees C.
These tiny snow crystals grow and grow. And as they do so, they become
heavier, causing them to
fall towards the Earth. All those falling snow crystals can't help but bump into each other and
that's how snowflakes are formed. Each snowflake is made up of anywhere
from 2 to 200 separate snow crystals that
have joined together in their
tumble through the clouds!
Snowflakes can share many similarities like
the number of their sides. But their size and basic shape are all
different. Each and every snowflake is a unique gift of nature! |
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