Snowflakes

Snowflakes photo taken as they fell on my car

Since we’ve been well below freezing point for more than a month now here in Baker City, the snow that fell late last year has turned into ice, and none of it has melted. When it is so cold, it is usually sunny and never snows on extremely cold days, because it is so dry and no clouds can form. However on some occasions we do get snowflakes that are really the hexagonal shaped snowflakes which are very tiny and hardly noticeable. However I noticed them one day last week, and took a few close-up photos, which are not very clear. But you can admire the phenomena of a snowflake, which scientist say, not two are alike. You have to of course enlarge these photos to get a glimpse of some of the snowflakes and their intriguing hexagonal shape. The fascinating thing is that these snowflakes fell when there were no clouds in the sky, which explains their mysterious creation.

More snowflakes (click once to enlarge)

According to the encyclopedia, “Snowflakes are conglomerations of frozen ice crystals which fall through the Earth's atmosphere. They begin as snow crystals which develop when microscopic supercooled cloud droplets freeze. Snowflakes come in a variety of sizes and shapes. Complex shapes emerge as the flake moves through differing temperature and humidity regimes, such that individual snowflakes are nearly unique in structure.”