Snowy Weather

White-out conditions on the road. Like a blizzard but all blowing snow, not new snow.

Ice and snow can mix. Freezing rain turns into ice that can cover everything, then snow falls on top making things even more dangerous. Or vice versa, snow then freezing rain, and the ice forms a crust over the snow.

Side effect of freezing rain is trees and power lines start to snap. Extra weight and all.

Also, in my experience in the Midwest, it doesn't usually snow if it's REALLY cold (-20F).

I'm sure I'll think of more.

Glad to know my years of suffering have helped. Also, freezing rain really stings your face!

Good luck!

If you want bright and cold, then have freezing rain on top of snow. When the sun comes out and all the trees are covered in ice and sparkling like diamonds, it's blindingly beautiful. One day I was driving to work as the sun was coming up after an ice storm. From the top of the hill, I had the whole of Caledon spread out before me: the snow was a delicate pink from the rising sun, with the trees like crystal. Highway 10 was a grey ribbon. Nasty to drive in, but incredibly beautiful.

Or try hoarfrost which is basically frozen dew that forms fantastic crystals on everything. Frequently there's a bit of ground fog that goes with it. In the mornings (hoarfrost disappears when the sun gets warm enough) when the sky is pink and blue and there's hoardfrost on everything, it looks like a fairyland. Sometimes there will be a hoarfrost scene down near the ground, then a layer of ground fog, and then just the tops of black tree silhouettes sticking up above the fog against the painted sky. If there are any farm animals out in the fields, their breath makes little frozen puffs of fog. It's one of the most beautiful winter scenes. Puma

I live in Alberta, Canada (just have to prove my qualifications, lol) and rain and snow mix quite a bit, when it transitions. ie. It's raining and the snowflakes start falling in between, and then it's just fullout snowing, and vice versa.

The absolute best part after a large snowfall is the silence. If you step outside, it feels like the snow blankets sound as well. And it's also noticeably lighter at night.

Hi Prophet,

Thought I'd mention a couple of side-effects that a lot of people don't normally think about with snow. (I'm an ex survival instructor for the military)

In snowy high altitude or "dry" conditions, dehydration can be a problem. When most people think of dehydration they think of hot conditions, but dehydration means lack of water or an environment that sucks the water right out of you.

In cold conditions we don't get "thirsty" the same way when it is hot. That combined with a dry conditions results in dehydration.

Another side-effect that people think about but don't prepare for properly is frostbite-particularly trench-foot frostbite.

What happens in this case is that people actually dress too warmly with their feet. So much so that thier feet actually sweat. Now that the foot is wet, it then freezes causing frostbite.

Lastly, there is a difference between cold as in temperature and cold as in wind related cold. As long as there is no wind, the human body (with basic clothing) can handle it pretty well. But once there is wind, especially WET wind, temperatures can be a factor of 2 or more colder (as felt by the body). ALong those lines, it is important to note that cold usually isn't life threatening (from a survival standpoint) until you start getting wet, either by sweating (because you didn't properly dress in layers that breath) or if you get wet (rain, melted snow, etc). Once you get wet, you are in SERIOUS trouble in a snowy / extremely cold environment. You can die within minutes if you get wet in freezing temperatures.

oh, one more thing that is particular to a snowy environment. The smell. Nothing smells cleanier on this planet than after a snowfall. And the night environment, the cold removes alot of particulates in the air and as such (if you are in the wilderness) the night sky is AMAZING. Perfectly crisp and clear. Unlike anything i've ever seen in the city or "normal" wilderness.

not sure if this is useful, just thought I'd chime in.

Mel...

Tri-Injuring Prophet said:

What other weather can be partnered with snow? Wind is obvious, but others? The scene itself is bright and cold. I'd thought hailstones, but ice and rain don't seem to fall when it snows. I live in Britain, so I don't get to see the stuff very often, and am certainly not a weather expert. ^^

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Here in the States, snow mixed with ice or rain or sleet or any combination theroef is pretty common......I think everyone has covered the details pretty well but I will agree with the poster who said it doesn't often snow when it is really, really cold.

There can also be freezing fog as well....

When it's very, very cold you often get sundogs: straight, vertical rainbows on either side of the sun. (Also moondogs at night) Really pretty--a bright blue, cloudless sky, the sun, and the rainbows.

Last fall we had a rainstorm that turned to snow pretty quickly. But it continued to lightning and thunder while the snow came down. I've never seen that happen before but we saw it twice last year.

Very thick, heavy, wet snow with thunder and lightning...it's a sight you won't soon forget!

I also live in Canada, first in the prairies where the snow is dryer -- it forms magnificent drifts that look like waves of water or sand, and when a wind comes up, you can get white-outs (I've driven in too many of those!) where you literally can't see beyond the hood ornament of your can but you can't stop because someone will drive into you from behind, but you can't for forward because someone might have stopped in front of you, or you just can't see the road. The wind also polishes the moisture on the road, so you get black ice making driving almost impossible. The weather can get quite cold.

I live in the Okanagan now, and here we get snowflakes so big you can feel them when they hit you. The snow is very wet and heavy, and it usually doesn't get very cold. It piles up on any horizontal surface, even the power lines and can weigh them down tremendously. When the sun comes out, it all sparkles and shines. My first few years here, being a tough prairie girl, I would shovel the snow from the driveway wearing shorts and a t-shirt (I'm a wimp now, I wear a coat to do it). You have to shovel here lots because of the weight. Some people even have to shovel their roof because of the weight of the snow. It's perfect for snowmen because the moisture lets it stick really good. It's perfect for forts and snowangels and snow ball fights, wihch have to happen at least once or twice every year.

In the place I have now, an acreage a bit removed, the snow covers everything so you can't see where the driveway ends or the grass begings. There is nothing like having a cup of hot tea while looking out at the clean, sparkling snow. It reflects the moonlight and any Christmas lights that are out there. And to see the footprints from the deer that wander around in beautiful, because there is nothing else out there except a few chickadees and the woodpeckers. The branches of the trees are weighed down, and even the little birdhouses and birdfeeders I have out in the trees will have giant white hats on them. And we have a pond and a creek that run year round, so the ice builds up on the edges and then the crystal clean water runs below that. Its peaceful and pure and pristine (until some idiot drives past the place with his four-wheel drive SUV and leaves dirty tire tracks everywhere). Oh, and something else we get are the northern lights, although not as much as we did in Alberta.

I don't want to be too picky, but I don't think that technically it can be clear and snow. To me, clear means no clouds. And snow, like rain, comes from clouds. The clouds can be really high, so it can be sunny and snowy...but not clear.

Did you have a specific area in mind? Becasue it might make a difference. Here in Chicago when it snows the sky is almost always the color of lead. In fact, it can be grey for 3 weeks, and it feels like the "roof" of the sky is about a foot over your head. Then it snows. After that, it clears up and gets really cold. I've only visited Colorado twice, but both times it was bright and snowy. (It was also much warmer than Chicago in the winter.)

In the winter, we usually don't get freezing rain because it's just too cold. That's a spring and fall thing. But, it's certainly possible to have sleet or little balls of ice mixed with the snow.

Also, sometimes it "snows sideways" when it's really bad. That's when the wind is so strong that the snow appears to be moving from right to left parallel to the ground (if you're facing north, in Chicago.) When this happens, it feels like little needles of ice against your skin (if you are dumb enough to have any exposed.)

I always get amused at what the characters in novels are wearing in the midwest in the winter. Short skirts and leather jackets, or a long evening gown and a fur stole. For the most part, they would (literally) die of exposure if they walked around like that. At 10 degrees with a 20 mph wind, skin freezes in less than 5 minutes.

Maybe if you describe the scene that your character is in, it would be helpful. Is he/she driving?

HTH

The sky here is always grey and it feels almost claustrophobic when it gets ready to snow. Snow is snow, and here comes with wind ow without, but not much else. Up north, it also feels like walking into needles when you walk into the wind and it takes no time to get frostbite. The cars up here, for much of the country anyways, come in block heaters that you plug in when you park the car because otherwise the whole thing freezes up. When you sit on the seat of the car, its like sitting on a hard block of ice, seriously, and when you start to drive, there's a bit of a flat spot on the tires from where they were sitting on the ground and you can feel that when you first start moving. Also, know that there is a difference between all-weather tires and all-season tires up here, and that winter tires are not rare, and tires can still be studded.

(this guy dies and goes to heaven and St Peter isn't ready for him, so offers to send him back to earth to do whatever he wants to for the next couple of days. The guy says he wants to come back down as a stud. St Peter says 'no problem' and POOF he's stuck in a tire at the corner of Portage and Main in downtown Winnipeg -- sorry! bad Canadian-type joke)

In wintertime, the sky, when it isn't snowing is the most incredible blue you will ever see. And in Alberta, you get Chinooks in the winter -- a warm western wind that comes in over the mountains, warms everything up tremendously, and then is typically followed by a massive low that really dumps you back into the freezer -- it makes the roads messy and plays havock with plants.

Last new years day (maybe it was the one or 2 years before, but anyway) we had a blizzard (snow, not hail) with thunder and lightning. It was freakin weird and I had always thought that snow and thunderstorms were mutually exclusive.

GeorgeK said:

Last new years day (maybe it was the one or 2 years before, but anyway) we had a blizzard (snow, not hail) with thunder and lightning. It was freakin weird and I had always thought that snow and thunderstorms were mutually exclusive.

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"Thunder snows" - or that's what the area weatherman called it when it did it here - are supposed to be pretty darn rare but they do happen. The first one I experienced was while I was pregnant with my twins, eleven or twelve years ago - and then a couple of years ago, we had another. It is pretty darn weird, that's for sure!

We lived in Fairbanks, Alaska for 3 years (my cred). One thing we found really eerie (especially as afficianados of the Silent Hill games), was snow mixed with fog. They call it ice fog. Really spooky when you look out and it's dark and foggy and snowing all at the same time. And snow makes everything so marvelously quiet. Man, I miss it now.

kristie911 said:

Last fall we had a rainstorm that turned to snow pretty quickly. But it continued to lightning and thunder while the snow came down. I've never seen that happen before but we saw it twice last year.

Very thick, heavy, wet snow with thunder and lightning...it's a sight you won't soon forget!

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I was just going to mention that. I've only seen it once in my life and it was amazing. Thunder and lightening during a snow storm. Cool beans!

reigningcatsndogs said:

(this guy dies and goes to heaven and St Peter isn't ready for him, so offers to send him back to earth to do whatever he wants to for the next couple of days. The guy says he wants to come back down as a stud. St Peter says 'no problem' and POOF he's stuck in a tire at the corner of Portage and Main in downtown Winnipeg -- sorry! bad Canadian-type joke).

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Hee I live a couple of hours from Wpg (in NW Ont) and I loved that joke.

It gets extremely cold here -40 is not unheard of and one thing that we see here is that sometimes during very cold conditions but with clear skies, is moisture crystalizing above the snow in the morning. I would say it is similar to fog except that it is almost solid in appearance and white and unlike fog which swirls, this just hangs.

Another point about very cold weather is that it is difficult to breathe - your lungs hurt when you inhale the cold.

Azure Skye said:

I was just going to mention that. I've only seen it once in my life and it was amazing. Thunder and lightening during a snow storm. Cool beans!

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Was just going to write about this too! It is amazing!

And another thing I have found about really cold weather is that the clutch on a Sunfire freezes at minus 40, which makes driving to work through the hills a bumpy experience. Third gear is my friend.

kikazaru said:

Hee I live a couple of hours from Wpg (in NW Ont) and I loved that joke.

It gets extremely cold here -40 is not unheard of and one thing that we see here is that sometimes during very cold conditions but with clear skies, is moisture crystalizing above the snow in the morning. I would say it is similar to fog except that it is almost solid in appearance and white and unlike fog which swirls, this just hangs.

Another point about very cold weather is that it is difficult to breathe - your lungs hurt when you inhale the cold.

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at -40F your eyeballs can start to freeze in your head (at least the aequeous humor, the liquid between the lens and the cornea, especially if you have glaucoma) and your teeth can crack with a sip of hot coffee

JoniBGoode said:

I don't want to be too picky, but I don't think that technically it can be clear and snow. To me, clear means no clouds. And snow, like rain, comes from clouds. The clouds can be really high, so it can be sunny and snowy...but not clear.

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I've been in plenty of areas where it was common to have the sun beat down on you while it rains. The key is patchy clouds (with or without wind) or have the sun going up or down (and I don't mean just the dying/rising light- the sun could still be high) with thick clouds above you.

I see no reason this couldn't occur with snow... and the light reflects off the stuff on the ground, adding to the lighting...

Sandi LeFaucheur said:

And another thing I have found about really cold weather is that the clutch on a Sunfire freezes at minus 40, which makes driving to work through the hills a bumpy experience. Third gear is my friend.

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Driving in those cold temps is sooo much fun, isn't it. There are just too many different liquids in vehicles, and they don't like to move at -40, and at that temp even the block heaters don't help. Years ago, it was just standard that the police vehicles were NEVER turned off in a cold spell, because you would never get them going again. And there is nothing like sitting in a frozen vehicle on a frozen seat for ten minutes, scraping the INSIDE of the windshield while waiting for the engine to warm up so you can get the car in gear.
But, I still love winter!!!!!! (you might not have guessed that fact from all my other posts here)

Powder days on the ski slopes! In Summit County, everyone takes off work and nobody goes to school....just thought I'd mention.