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 It’s
very cold outside these days. Winter is a tough season to get through,
but it is also an interesting season. In fact, there are many amazing facts about winter. There
are, also, some interesting legends about winter. Please
keep reading and learn some fun facts about winter!
In winter, many countries throughout the world suffer from waves of cold weather. Winter
in Korea is pretty cold, too. You may feel like you are in the North Pole these days. But
Korea is not the coldest place in the world. The coldest place on
Earth is Antarctica. The coldest temperature ever reported
was -89.4 degrees!
The cold brings snow and snow falls as flakes.No two snowflakes are
alike. Snowflakes start as
ice crystals that freeze around small pieces
of dust in the air. As they fall to the ground, the ice crystals join together to form snowflakes. The shape
of each snowflake is determined by temperature, wind, and the amount
of time it takes to fall to the ground. The amount of water vapor in the air also
affects the shapes of snowflakes.
 Then, how
big is the world’s biggest snowflake? According to the Guinness
Book of World Records, the world’s biggest snowflake fell on January
28, 1887, in the U.S. state of Montana. It was 38 centimeters across and 2.5 centimeters
thick!
A single snowstorm can drop 40 million
tons of snow, carrying the energy equivalent to to 120 atom bombs. The largest single
snowstorm on record lasted five days in Alaska, 1955. It left more
than 43 meters of snow! The heaviest snowfall on record was in Silver
Lake, Colorado, on April 14-15, 1921. The town received 1.7 meters of snow
in 24 hours!
According to legend, we will have a cold winter if animals have thicker
coats of hair or fur. There are other signs
of cold winters. Squirrels build their nests low in
trees and gather nuts early. Ants may
build their mounds higher. Larger numbers of spiders are seen in the fall
and birds are seen migrating earlier than usual. |
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