Chilling Adventures: Embracing the Wonders of Winter Weather

Western New York is wholly embracing the winter season this year. As I observe the weather forecast, it appears that most upcoming days feature at least a small amount of snow expected, leading to varied opinions on this matter. Some individuals are eager to don their snow gear including snow pants, skis, snowboards, and snowshoes, whereas others would rather remain indoors and avoid that snowy and chilly experience. 

I have spent a considerable portion of my life in regions where winter is abundant; aside from a few exceptions, most years consist of diverse quantities of cold, snow, and ice. I also likely sit more towards the end of the spectrum that finds joy in the snow rather than irritation, as I gladly endure the occasional treacherous drive through a snowstorm if it means I can also experience snowshoeing in a peaceful, snow-covered forest. 

There are numerous ways to appreciate the snow, but aligning your favored activity with the specific type of precipitation can be a bit more complex than initially thought. Last week, I stepped into the parking lot and spotted someone cleaning their cross-country skis. I inquired about the skiing conditions and whether there was sufficient snow available. The reply? Not ideal; the snow is excessively wet and sticky.

Children, with their natural tendency to play in most circumstances, often see snow and immediately start attempting to gather snow and compact it into a large enough sphere to construct a snowman or some other imaginative creation. Sometimes, we end up with a life-sized figure. At other times, the snow is too loose to hold together.

Snow might appear to just be snow, yet there are countless variations when it comes to semi-frozen water descending from the atmosphere. These differences arise from various factors as water travels through the air, including temperature, moisture content in the atmosphere, and atmospheric pressure. This precipitating and freezing water produces snowflakes, sleet, ice crystals, hail, and snow pellets.

Even with basic snowfall, distinctions can be observed. You may have noted, regardless of whether you are walking on it, shoveling the driveway, or clearing off the vehicle, that on one day the snow can be light and airy, while on another day, it feels moist and substantial. This mainly relates to temperature fluctuations as the snowflake descends from the sky to the ground. If the temperature remains at or below freezing throughout its descent, there typically is less liquid content within the snowflake, resulting in lighter, fluffier snowflakes. Conversely, if the temperature near the ground exceeds freezing, that snowflake partially melts while still falling, resulting in heavier, wetter accumulated snow. Naturally, the surface upon which the snowflakes land can also influence how moist the snow is. 

Individual snowflakes could certainly constitute an entire discussion on their own. They develop into an array of unique crystals as they drift through the atmosphere. Wilson Bentley captured photographs of thousands of snowflakes in the late 1800s, and since that time, there have been diagrams illustrating crystal shapes and a classification system categorizing snowflakes into 80 unique forms. Even among those 80 shapes, each snowflake possesses its own minute variations.

Snowflakes develop when water vapor freezes directly into a solid ice crystal, bypassing the liquid phase entirely in a phenomenon known as deposition. Nonetheless, various conditions lead to the formation of other types of frozen precipitation. Sleet and ice crystals occasionally occur when liquid water freezes as it falls. Due to transitioning through the liquid phase, it forms ice rather than a snowflake, akin to how water converts from a liquid to solid in the freezer. This can become even more intricate as melting and refreezing happen during the descent, resulting in a variety of ice pellets and semi-frozen water.

Snow isn’t a certainty for everyone, irrespective of location. I lived in California for around a year, and while snowfall was infrequent, the foothills where I lived occasionally received some winter precipitation, and that winter was just cold enough for a little frozen precipitation. It was during this time that I first encountered the term graupel. Graupel is another term for snow pellets, sometimes referred to as soft hail, or tapioca snow—a term I recently discovered that may just be my new favorite. The characteristics of tapioca serve as an apt description for this type of snowfall, which falls as small pellets, resembling hail but easier to melt in your hand and formed somewhat differently. When it accumulates, graupel also brings to mind Dippin’ Dots, the pellet-shaped frozen treat commonly found in amusement parks.

Graupel can occur in any location, and in fact, I observed some just here a week ago. It forms when supercooled water, which is water that remains below freezing point without solidifying, adheres to an existing snow crystal. 

Graupel is distinct from genuine hail. Hail typically occurs outside of winter and forms through a different process than the previously mentioned ice crystals. It originates within thunderstorm clouds as layers of ice coalesce to create a ball with irregular shape exceeding 0.2 inches in diameter.

Currently, the snow may seem somewhat unending and perpetual, but not every snowfall is alike. The smallest differences in our surroundings, both on the ground and far above us in the sky, yield a uniquely different experience each time it becomes cold enough for water vapor or liquid to freeze and descend. 

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