Winter
Time
We all know what happens in Winter. It
snows, lakes freeze, snowflakes form. But
why does this happen, how come it snows
in Winter???
Article By; Evan H.
Staff Member, Grade 8
Does snow have a definite
shape and volume?
In cartoons and movies, snow is portrayed to
have a small spherical shape. This is
completely false. There is a shape to it since
the flakes are a solid at some point. However,
there is no predicting the shape of
snowflakes/snow. There is a definite volume
though. If you take a snowflake that is equal to
1 gram, squish it, and turn it into liquid it
would still be 1 gram.
What is Winter?
How do snowflakes form?
As we all know winter is a season. Winter takes
place when the Earth is closest to the sun during
its yearly orbit. This is event is called an
Aphelion. This is also why the sun goes down
quicker than usual. It is cold when the Earth is
closest to the sun because of the Earth’s tilted
axis. The U.S. is faced away from the sun.
As most of us know it starts up in the sky as
water. It cools down dramatically and
attaches itself to pollen, dust etc. This forms
an ice crystal. As it falls to the ground cold
water vapor will freeze around it forming new
arms. There are of course six arms to every
snowflake. This is because the molecules
combining to form the ice structure are built
in hexagonal structures. It’s composed of
oxygen and hydrogen atoms.
Why Does it snow during
Winter?
Technically it can be snow year round but we
just don’t know it. Even in the Summer snow can
start up high in the sky but 99% of the time, it
won’t make its way down to earth frozen. Before
it hits the ground it melts into a raindrop. This
normally happens in the east where there have
been a few reports of having huge snowfall
during spring. The reason you can see snow
during the winter is because normally the cold
frosty air would prevent the fragile flakes of
snow from melting.
In Conclusion
Winter is a beautiful thing and shouldn’t be taken
for granted. It stopped snowing in 1949 due to all
the smog and hot temperatures. Pollution filled
the air and it was a really congested time. There
were only a few rare occasions of slight snowfall
but no real snow storm. Hopefully in the future it
will get better so we can enjoy the wonderful
winter snow in LA once again.
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