Glossary: Snow

Snow

Snow is a form of precipitation that consists of crystal of ice. These crystals grow from water vapor in clouds. During the snow formation process, water droplets, which are supercooled, slowly evaporate. Much of the resulting vapor joins the crystals, and so the crystals grow. The crystals fall faster as they grow and they may collide with one another to make snowflakes. The shape of snow crystals depends on the temperatures and to some extent on the amount of water vapor in the air.