what shapes a snowflake?
Even more unique than your coffee order.
To start, snowflakes form in the atmosphere when cold water droplets freeze onto dust particles. The ice crystals that take form on the dust particle take shape depending on the temperature and humidity of the atmosphere that surrounds it, keeping in mind that each flake takes a different path down to the ground and experiences a wide range of atmospheric conditions that can affect it.
The temperature has a very specific way of affecting the shape of a snowflake. When below -7.6 degrees Fahrenheit, snowflakes will mostly be composed of “simple crystal plates and columns… while snowflakes with extensive branching patterns are formed in warmer temperatures.”
Wilson Bentley was the first to photograph and document just how unique snowflakes can be. With a microscope attached to his camera, he compiled a collection of 5,000 snowflake images that you can view here.