The science of snowflakes: See how they form and why no two are ever alike Snow is made up of trillions of tiny ice crystals that make snowflakes, with not one alike.

In ice crystals water molecules line up and form a hexagon which is why all snowflakes have six sides but not all water molecules are the same so naturally the makeup of a snowflake won't be either.

Plates When many people draw a snowflake, they probably dream of a plate-shaped ice crystal. These are thin, flat, six-sided crystals that can have simple or ornate patterns.

A snowflake can grow in two ways: faceted growth or branched growth. With faceted growth, the water vapor deposits on the ice crystals' edges while leaving the face (or the basal facet) smooth.

Snowflakes form when a drop of extremely cold water freezes on a dust or pollen particle in the sky, creating an ice crystal. More moisture freezes onto this ice crystal as it falls toward the ...

CLEVELAND — Snowflakes, those delicate ice crystals, come in various shapes and sizes. This frozen precipitation is shaped by specific temperature and humidity conditions. The formation of ...

Snowflakes are a composition of up to 200 ice crystals. These crystals are created when a cold water vapor droplet becomes frozen to a pollen or dust particle. While the crystal is falling, other ...

As the ice crystal falls to the ground, water vapor freezes onto the primary crystal, building new crystals. Microscopic view of snowflakes by Wilson Bentley. From the Annual Summary of the ...

As the ice crystal falls to the ground, water vapor freezes onto the primary crystal, building new crystals. Microscopic view of snowflakes by Wilson Bentley. From the Annual Summary of the ...

CLEVELAND — Snowflakes, those delicate ice crystals, come in various shapes and sizes. This frozen precipitation is shaped by specific temperature and humidity conditions. The formation of ...