Our business is manipulating giant mounds of snow, but have you ever stopped to really look at those tiny magical little flakes? They say that each snowflake ever to fall to earth is completely unique. Can you imagine? Those mounds of snow that we labor over are actually quite cool once you break it down. Did you know the first snowflake was photographed in Vermont in 1880?
Our business is manipulating giant mounds of snow, but have you ever stopped to really look at those tiny magical little flakes? They say that each snowflake ever to fall to earth is completely unique. Can you imagine? Those mounds of snow that we labor over are actually quite cool once you break it down. Did you know the first snowflake was photographed in Vermont in 1880?
The history of snowflakes as we know it is really riddled with controversy and mystery. NPR’s Radiolab did a brief bit on snowflakes, and their way of looking at things is usually quite interesting. They talk to Ken Libbrecht, a professor at Cal Tech. He is a snowflake creator and photographer who has traveled the world looking for the perfect snowflake. He’s been to Tahoe, Japan, Michigan, Alaska, Sweden, Ontario, and many more places, searching high and low for a perfect snowflake. He says there’s a lot that goes into a snowflake. Having exactly the right conditions will make a perfect snowflake. Here is his recipe:
Ken says it should be ideally 5 degrees Fahrenheit. The height of the clouds matter too. Snow clouds that are too high will cause the snowflakes to evaporate on the way down. You don’t want clouds that are too dense or too light. There should be high humidity and close to no wind. As you can tell, it’s hard to find a perfect snowflake. Listen to the whole episode here: