Get ready for the "fluff factor" this weekend.
That is because this weekend's snow will be very light and fluffy. Think of it as pancakes. Who knew snow would have similarities with pancakes? Here is why...
Snow itself is frozen water with a hexagonal ice crystal shape most of the time. No two flakes are ever identical. The air temperature is the number one key to determining the way a snowflake is built and its characteristics when it reaches the ground.
Snow typically forms when the air temperature is 32 degrees or below, a.k.a. the freezing mark. When snow forms and falls near 32 degrees, each snowflake holds more water. That is why we call that snow "heavy" and "wet": it is compact and much harder to shovel because of its weight. That kind of snow is great for making snowmen, as the compact and wet snow can stick together easily and make clean snowballs.
This heavy, wet snow typically falls at a ratio of about 10:1, which means for every 1 inch of liquid (if you were to melt the snow down), there would be 10 inches of snow. When you are right at 32 degrees or just above it, the snow ratio could fall to as low as 5:1, and oftentimes mix with sleet and plain rain.
Vice versa, as the temperature goes down, the fluff factor goes up. When the air temperature approaches 20 degrees, the snow ratio can climb to as high as 20:1. So, for the same 1 inch of liquid, or melted down snow, there would be 20 inches of snow, not 10. That is because the colder the temperature, the more air a snowflake holds, making it "light" and "fluffy"; hence the term fluff factor.
A little bonus science if you've made it this far...there is a "sweet spot" for snow, usually between 10 and 20 degrees, known as the 'dendritic growth zone' (DGZ for short), where snowflakes maximize their efficiency and become their truest, fluffiest form. Snow ratios could get as high as a whopping 35:1. That means for every 1 inch of liquid, there could be 35 inches of snow. Wow!
Parts of Northeast Ohio could get close to the sweet spot later this evening as temperatures are expected to fall below 20 degrees before the clipper snow ends.
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