Weather Tidbits: Different Types of Snowflakes

This edition of Weather Tidbits will be discussing different types of snowflakes. Snowflakes come in many different shapes and sizes depending on the temperature and moisture content of the cloud layer where snowflake production takes place. Snowflakes of thin plate types will form between 25 and 31 degrees. Needle type snowflakes will form between temperatures of 21 to 25 degrees. Hollow column snowflakes will form between 14 and 21 degrees and -8 degrees or below. Stellar plate snowflakes will form between 10 and 14 degrees and -8 to 3 degrees. Dendrites will form between 3 and 10 degrees within the Dendritic growth zone. This is a layer in the atmosphere where this temperatures range is under a saturated atmosphere will ample rising motion. Dendrites accumulate very easily.