Snowflakes and their amazing shapes

Arabia Weather -

Ice crystal shapes

There are a number

1. Simple publication (Simple Prism)

Hexagonal prisms are the simplest form of ice crystals. Snow crystal prisms can appear as thin hexagonal panels, thin hexagonal columns, or anything in between, depending on how quickly the different sides grow. Simple prisms are usually so small that they are difficult to see with the eye. The abstract. This pattern appears for ice crystals at a temperature of about -2 ° C, and in the presence of low humidity.

2. Chipset asterisk (Stellar Plates)

They are thin, plate-like crystals with six broad arms that form a star shape, and are often decorated with surprisingly subtle and symmetrical markings. The star-like ice crystals form when the temperature approaches -2 ° C or -15 ° C, according to the ice crystal morphology diagram.

3. dendrites asterisk (Stellar Dendrites)

Stellar dendrites are plate-like ice crystals that have branches and side branches, and these crystals are fairly large, usually 2-4 mm in diameter, and can be seen easily with the naked eye, or with a simple magnifying glass, so stellar dendrites are the most common form of ice crystals , And this form consists of crystals at high humidity and temperature approximately - 12 ° C.

4. Stellar dendrites ( Fernlike Stellar Dendrites )

The arms of stellar crystals may contain many side branches that are somewhat similar to a fern plant, so we call them fern-like stellate dendrites, these are the largest snow crystals, as they often fall to the ground with diameters of 5 mm or more, and are characterized by snowfalls that do not contain Only stellar ramifications and fern-like stellar ramifications are a wonderful sight when they gather in large numbers, and these crystals are very thin and light, so they form a low-density ice mass, and they can be dived into.

5. hollow columns (Hollow Columns)