“Grow Snow Crystals" WebApp Courtesy of the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS), Copyright © 2013 by Tom Whittaker and Steve Ackerman at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
How Do Different Temperatures Affect Snowflakes?
Every snow crystal has a six-sided (hexagonal) shape, but they come in all different arrangements and sizes.
As a snowflake forms, it can move to different parts of the cloud. Differences in temperature and humidity affect the snowflake's shape.
Explore How Snowflake Crystals Take Shape Depending on Temperature:
- Click in one of the temperature zones (between the lines).
- Move your cursor to a different temperature zone and click some more.
- Combine up to three different shapes.
- Click multiple times to watch the crystal grow.
- Click below the cloud to start over.
This content was produced by the NASA Space Place team at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory for NESDIS with funds from the GOES-R Series program and the JPSS program.