Last year my mom gave Sweetheart G a Field Guide to Snowflakes. So, now that Christmas is done, and we are soaking up the last week before school begins, I've sat down to identify the different flakes I photographed during our record breaking snowfall. (Yes, I am this kind of geeky person.) (And yes, if you are still recovering from snow induced shock, you may want to look away.)
So these flakes.. which fell in huge clumps which looked like this on my coat:
Are Fernlike Stellar Dendrites which are falling as "interlocking crystals". Although this formation of snow isn't uncommon, even my guidebook writer sounds impressed by their beauty as they fall.
This photo shows how the individual flakes overlap and grow together as they form in the clouds.
We had a small amount of freezing rain in our big storm, and this snow fell right after the freezing rain. I think these flakes are "Capped Columns". They are two octagonal plates joined together by a squat column. This snow formation is rarer than the Dendrites and occurs when a warmer front pushes upward as storm fronts pass by. This sounds a lot like the weather changes we were experiencing.
This snow was some of the last we had in quantity. These "Needles" and "Crossed Needles" really made me wish I had a camera that could be hooked up to the microscope. Apparently (according to my book) the solid looking shards are hollow and layered, and actually look more like elongated squashed long armed snowflakes.
I won't say that I wasn't getting a bit tired to being housebound, and I was thrilled when the snow melted enough for us to travel around town safely, but I am already pining for more. After all, there are 32 more different types of snow I haven't seen yet!