THONK! The Biggest Snowflake Ever!

[Byrd]

I'm sitting here with my warm clothes on (hubby likes the house at 73.  My body thinks this is somewhat on the chilly side) and stumble across something on my Facebook feed about snow... and snowflakes... and the question of "what's the biggest snowflake ever"?

Interesting question.  But it turns out that the answer is "it depends"...

It depends on what you're calling a snowflake.

Most of what we call snowflakes are simply single crystals of ice (think about salt crystals in your salt shaker) -- "snow crystals" -- and they're pretty tiny and the largest onrecord is only 1/3rd of an inch.

Snowflakes, however, are conglomerations of snow crystals and they can be pretty darn big... as in the size of a pizza pan https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/wor...-snowflake

You need a heavy, wet snow for that sort of thing: https://www.theweatherprediction.com/habyhints/261/



Have YOU seen any big snowflakes?  We really don't get them in Texas, but I have a memory of seeing some pretty large and fluffy ones (perhaps close to half an inch) in Germany when I was a child.

[DontTreadOnMe]

That was most interesting, Byrd.  I am a sort of amateur weather weenie...so this thread is right up my alley.
We do get some of those big, clunky, cottony flakes.  Too many of them make for heavy, back breaking snow.

[ArMaP]

I never saw snow.

[DontTreadOnMe]

I never saw snow.

The best part of snowfall is seeing it on at night, with enough light available to show it glistening.  Like glitter on a Christmas card.
Quite a peaceful event to see.

[Elevatedone]

When I was 8 or 9 ( Long time ago ) I remember one night it was snowing very hard, the snow flakes were probably 1" - 2" or so.  This was in NE Kentucky.  I think we ended up with 14-16" of snow that night.

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When I was 8 or 9 ( Long time ago ) I remember one night it was snowing very hard, the snow flakes were probably 1" - 2" or so.  This was in NE Kentucky.  I think we ended up with 14-16" of snow that night.

[ChiefD]

Having lived most of my life in Wisconsin, I have seen some pretty large snowflakes. I think the biggest ones I saw were an inch or two in diameter. They were amazing. I was a kid, and my Dad was outside shoveling snow. He had me and my sisters come outside to see them, and we were in awe. Conditions have to be just right for this to happen, kind of rare like a thundersnow with lightning. 

I'd love to see one as big as in the Guinness Book of World Records. That would be pretty cool.

[guyfriday]

Have YOU seen any big snowflakes?  We really don't get them in Texas, but I have a memory of seeing some pretty large and fluffy ones (perhaps close to half an inch) in Germany when I was a child.

The biggest snowflake I ever saw was back in 1994 Maryland at the start of a cold front that led into a blizzard. the flakes falling were big enough to guess-ta-mate the size at around 8 inches across. A guy from New York state near the lakes said he'd seen bigger from lake effect snow. 

Anyone from the upper New York area want to chime in on this interesting topic?

[Tecate]

I’m from Northern Alberta, and when it gets warmer with a higher humidity, we have huge snowflakes and clumps of snowflakes come down. Usually it’s a spring snowstorm type thing. Heavy, wet, treetop snapping stuff.

Good for the farmers and the lakes!

Tecate