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How do snowflakes form?

How do snowflakes form?

Learn how snowflakes, also called snow crystals, form.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
  • Adapted from C.R. Scotese, The University of Texas at Arlington
    Watch a time-lapse of Earth changing through geologic time, from the Cambrian Era to the projected period of Pangea Proxima.
    Media Editor: Miranda Chabot
    Watch Earth's Continents Move
    Watch Earth's Continents Move
  • Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
    Artemis II is sending human organs around the Moon. Why?
    Media Editor: Lauren Sims
    Can Astronaut Cells Survive Deep Space?
    A man in glasses and a light blue turtleneck sits on a green couch by a window. Over his head is text reading “NASA put organs on a chip?” with a brain illustration and a computer chip graphic.
  • Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
    Love can be a dangerous game.
    Crazy in Love: Why Some Animals Eat Their Mates
    Crazy in Love: Why Some Animals Eat Their Mates
  • © American Chemical Society (A Britannica Publishing Partner)
    A snowflake starts as a dust grain floating in a cloud.
    How Do Snowflakes Form?
    Animated snowflake against a dark background.
  • Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz
    Learn how fish survive winter in lakes that are covered in ice.
    How do fish survive under icy lakes in winter?
    How do fish survive under icy lakes in winter?
  • Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
    Learn how the Andes Mountains block warm moist air, causing persistent heavy rainfall on their eastern slopes that feeds the Amazon River.
    Learn how the Andes Mountains block warm moist air, causing heavy rainfall that feeds the Amazon River
    Learn how the Andes Mountains block warm moist air, causing heavy rainfall that feeds the Amazon River
  • Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz
    Learn why snow makes a crunching sound when underfoot.
    Why does snow crunch underfoot?
    Why does snow crunch underfoot?
Related Articles: Climate , ice , Precipitation , Snow , snowflake

News •

See where El Niño may help deliver lots of snow this winter • Nov. 11, 2026, 1:00 PM ET (Washington Post)
Parts of the Pittsburgh area could see snow this weekend, but most will see a wintry mix or rain • Nov. 10, 2026, 7:59 AM ET (CBS)
Snow could return to New York this week. When and where it's possible • Nov. 9, 2026, 9:58 AM ET (Rochester Democrat and Chronicle)
Untangling the patterns of the cosmic microwave background to better understand the early universe • Nov. 6, 2026, 7:20 PM ET (Phys.org)
Snow is back in Michigan: See photos from across the state • Nov. 6, 2026, 10:02 AM ET (Detroit Free Press)
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