Chill Out: Unleashing the Joy of Winter Wonders!

I have spent a significant portion of my life in regions that experience a decent amount of winter; with a few exceptions, most years are filled with varying degrees of cold, snow, and ice. I likely lean towards the side that is more enthusiastic about the snow rather than irritated by it, as I willingly endure the occasional treacherous drive through a white-out if it means I also get to enjoy snowshoeing through a quiet, snow-covered forest. 

There are numerous ways to relish the snow, but it appears there is a bit more complexity in aligning your preferred activity with the available precipitation. Last week, I stepped out to the parking lot and observed someone polishing their cross-country skis. I inquired about the skiing conditions and whether there was sufficient snow for it. The reply? Not ideal; the snow is too wet and overly sticky.

Children, with their propensity for play in most instances, often encounter snow and begin trying their best to gather it and form it into a large enough ball to create a snowman or some other structure. Sometimes we end up with a human-sized figure. Other times, luck is not on our side. The snow is too airy to adhere together.

It seems that snow should merely be snow, yet there are countless variations on a theme concerning semi-frozen water descending from the heavens. These variations arise from the numerous factors at play as water navigates through the sky, such as temperature, the amount of moisture in the air, and atmospheric pressure. This falling and freezing water generates snowflakes, sleet, ice crystals, hail, and snow pellets.

Warmer conditions produce stickier, wet snow that is more manageable to roll into a ball.

Even beginning with your standard snowfall, there are distinctions. You might have observed, whether you are walking on it, shoveling the driveway, or clearing off the car, that one day the snow feels light and airy, but on another day, it appears wet and heavy. This primarily relates to temperature fluctuations as the snowflake descends through the atmosphere to the surface. If the temperature remains at or below freezing throughout its descent, there is typically less liquid content within the snowflake, resulting in lighter, fluffy snowflakes. Conversely, if the temperature near the ground is above freezing, that snowflake melts slightly while falling, leading to heavier and wetter accumulated snow. Naturally, the temperature of the surface the snowflakes land on can influence how damp the snow becomes as well. 

Individual snowflakes could serve as a completely separate but extensive discussion in their own right. They develop into a variety of unique crystals as they fall through the atmosphere. Wilson Bentley captured images of thousands of snowflakes in the late 1800s, and since then, a categorization system has emerged that divides snowflakes into 80 distinct shapes based on crystal morphology. Even among those 80 snowflake shapes, each flake exhibits its own minute variations.

Snowflakes develop when water vapor freezes directly into a solid ice crystal, bypassing the liquid phase entirely in a process known as deposition. However, certain conditions can lead to other types of frozen precipitation. Sleet and ice crystals sometimes result from liquid water freezing as it descends. Because it traverses the liquid stage, it forms ice instead of a snowflake, similar to how placing water in the freezer transforms it from a liquid to a solid. This process can become even more intricate as melting and refreezing occur on the descent, resulting in numerous varieties of ice pellets and semi-frozen water.

Snow is not a certainty for everyone, everywhere. I resided in California for about a year, and while snow was infrequent, the foothills I called home at that time occasionally received some winter precipitation, and that winter was just brisk enough for a little bit of frozen precipitation. That was where I first encountered the term graupel. Graupel refers to snow pellets, sometimes also simply called soft hail or tapioca snow, a recent descriptor I stumbled upon, but it might be my new favorite. Tapioca is a suitable descriptor for this type of snowfall, which descends as small pellets, akin to hail but simpler to melt in your hand and formed somewhat differently. When it accumulates, graupel reminds me of Dippin’ Dots, the pelleted frozen ice cream available in amusement parks.

Graupel can occur anywhere, and in fact, I spotted some right here just last week. It is formed when supercooled water—extra cold water that remains below freezing without actually solidifying—adheres to an existing snow crystal. 

Graupel is also distinct from actual hail. Hail typically occurs outside the winter season and forms differently than the previously mentioned ice crystals. It develops in thunderstorm clouds as layers of ice create an irregularly shaped sphere greater than 0.2 inches in diameter.

At present, the snow may appear somewhat perpetual and continuous, but not every snowfall is identical. The slightest differences outside, both at ground level and high above in the sky, produce a slightly unique experience each time it becomes cold enough for water vapor or liquid to freeze and fall. 

The Audubon Community Nature Center fosters and cultivates connections between individuals and nature. ACNC is situated just east of Route 62 between Warren and Jamestown. The trails are accessible from dawn to dusk, and birds of prey can be observed whenever the trails are open. The Nature Center operates from 10 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. daily, except on Sundays when it opens at 1 p.m. More information can be found online at auduboncnc.org or by calling (716) 569-2345.