FEATURE
THE SCIENCE OF SNOW AND THE FERNIE ALARM CLOCK
There are many things to enjoy about winter in Fernie from fantastic outdoor activities to the beautiful views in every direction , to relaxing in a hot tub as snowflakes fall all around . The thing that ties them all together is snow ; champagne powder , fluff , snice , pow pow , chowder , neige , sneeuw , schnee , snø , unatsi – whatever you call it , the white stuff is what winter in Fernie is all about , and when it comes in the form of a snowmageddon , all the better .
But what is it ? Snow is precipitation in the form of ice crystals . It originates in clouds when temperatures are below the freezing point , when water vapor in the atmosphere condenses directly into ice without going through the liquid stage . A snowflake is a coagulation of several snow crystals . Crystals can have a diameter of less than 25mm up to . 5cm , whereas snowflakes may have a spread of 5cm or larger . Large snowflakes are composed mostly of interlocked stellar crystals , the most recognizable type of crystals , star shaped with branches , usually occuring during quite cold temperatures ( -15C ) when there is little wind .
Columns and needles are thin , small , needle shaped crystals , common when there is a temperature inversion . Graupel , which looks like tiny styrofoam pellets , presents as heavily rimmed particles or soft hail and is created as supercooled water funnels up into the clouds and bonds to the snowflakes as they fall . Cold clear nights create surface hoar , big sparkling feather-like crystals . Prolonged cold changes snow crystals into sugar-like forms that do not bond together . When layers build up over time and become frozen by repeated exposure to melting sun and freezing temperatures , this is called the crust . As
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