I saw the delicate, leaf-like ice crystals in the photo whilst snowboarding in France, they measured from 20 - 80mm and were incredibly fragile. The area they covered in the photo was about 20m2 but we saw other patches close by. The site was at about 1800m.

Following the recent spell of cold weather, I noticed that there are still piles of dirty snow with sand or grit (but not salt) in them, but all the clean snow has melted.

Snow makes you cold and wet, yet humans still seem to enjoy playing in it. How could this help us survive?

I was walking along a canal several days ago, and, the UK weather being what it is at the moment, the canal was frozen. However under all the bridges that crossed the canal, whether footbridge or road bridge, the water was unfrozen. What is it about the bridges that stops the water under them from freezing?

I have a very conservative relative who lives in FL.  She now believes that global warming is all a liberal conspiracy plot because the weather report announces snow sometime tonight or tomorrow (she's in Orlando).  I'd like to explain to her that these crazy and unusual weather occurrences are a consequence of global warming, but don't know how.  Please help!

Thanks

On the first night of heavy snow - tues 5th Jan - it was cloudy but the sky was  a very light sepia tone all night - enough to see clearly by. It was much more light than on the subsequent nights which have been partially cloudy with a visible moon. On these nights there was the same amount of snow cover, but less cloud. 

On the sepia night it was lighter than if there had been a full moon.

I have heard the oft-repeated "fact" that no two snowflakes are ever the same. Having a fair idea of how snowflakes form, (those Last Word books are very educational), I can see how this might be true. But it's still possible for two snowflakes to be clones. What's the probability of two different snowflakes forming the same, and looking exactly the same. And, if a estimation of how much snow has ever snowed is possible, can it be worked out how many snowflake clones there has ever been?

Recently during a cold snap (-10°c) we were walking in the snowy woods in the Heidelberg, Germany hills and found about 20 worm like patterns melted in the snow. Some were several meters long and the melted paths never crossed. How or by what were they made?

You can get an idea of the size by my clomping size 13 boot in the picture.

Ian

Why snow is white? Does somebody can explain it?