Snow

Trees covered with snow

Snow is a form of ice. Snow forms when water in the atmosphere becomes frozen. Snow comes in all different shapes and sizes.

At the freezing point of water (0° Celsius, 32° Fahrenheit), snow melts and becomes water. Sometimes, the snow will melt very fast and become water vapor. This is called sublimation. The opposite, where water vapor becomes snow, is called deposition.

Snow is needed for some winter sport activities like skiing and sledding. People can also play with snow and build things out of it.

Snow can also be dangerous, as it can lower visibility and make driving hard to do. When it snows the snow will melt a little during the daytime and freeze again at night. This makes ice which can make cars slide and crash. Snow plows are used to remove snow from roads to make driving easier and safer. Also, sand or salt may be added to the road. Sand can make tires better at gripping the road. When salt is mixed with snow, the snow will melt more easily. This is because salt water has a lower melting point than fresh water (water without salt).

A snow storm is a dangerous type of weather. A snow storm produces heavy snow and strong winds, and a snow storm can produce thunder snow, which is snow with lightning. A snow storm can be like a rain storm except for a snow storm has snow instead of rain, yet on one side of a snow storm there can be a lot of rain too.