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Whether we like it or not, winter has arrived, snow heralding its appearance with crystalline magic. Overnight, our world is transformed. A change of seasons from autumn to winter is always accompanied by sports and activities better suited to the cold weather such as making a snow sculpture. An obvious prerequisite to snow sculpture is an abundance of snow, but not just any snow. In order to pack snow so that it holds together, the snow must be near the melting point. It is a balancing act. Too warm of a temperature, however, will create slush which is not conducive to making a snow sculpture. As the snow melts, the snow crystals form a watery mixture similar to the popular sugary flavored frozen drink that we crave in the summer months. Snow can be present in so many forms. Sometimes it presents with fluffy white flakes, fat and thickly falling. Other times, snow is almost crystallized and sharp. A crust can form on the top layer of snow as it is exposed to the warming rays of the sun and the ravages of the wind. Anyone living in a snow belt has likely experienced walking on top of crusty, packed snow, only to suddenly break through. As the pants are pushed up above the boots, the sharp crusty layer scrapes the skin, resulting in a painful abrasion. Upon examination, the snow underneath is sugary and dry, incapable of sticking together. This type of snow does not lend itself to making a snow sculpture. We may marvel at the intricate shapes of snowflakes, giving little thought to its evolution and geometric design. A snowflake is formed one molecule at a time. Water vapor forms around a particle of dust, bacteria or other minute particulate in the atmosphere. Snow crystals are hexagonal prisms formed from condensed water vapors in the air and may consist of many snow crystals that are bound together in complex shapes and forms. There are six distinct types of snowflakes. The star shaped snowflake is one of the most common and the one that we emulated when we made lacy paper cut-outs in school. The star shape is formed at temperatures about -15C. It is quite fragile and easily broken. Given perfect weather conditions however, the star snowflake is capable of joining together with several others to form a huge snowflake. Dendrites are similar to stars and could be described as stars on steroids as they are three dimensional. Dendrites require a lot of moisture, usually forming at colder temperatures of -20 to -25C. When the temperature on the ground is near the freezing point, needle shaped snowflakes are formed. As their name implies, plates are essentially stars without any extending arms. When the air is dryer and lacking in moisture content, columns are likely to be formed. Columns capped with plates are caused when snow passes through several different temperature zones with varying levels of moisture. Making a snow sculpture requires precise temperatures and moisture content to create a successful snow sculpture. The creator of a snow sculpture is essentially at the whim of environmental weather conditions.
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