Dear Anita

It’s been sunny and breezy in New Jersey with some rainy 🌧 days. I think that snows 🌨 are starting to come later in the year. Hope that you stay warm from the snowy weather.

Snowflakes are often associated with star shapes because when the hydrogen and oxygen in water meet other water molecules, the molecular bonds that form align the molecules into a six-fold symmetry pattern.

As snow ❄ falls, it interacts with water vapor in the atmosphere. At low humidity there is low water vapor in the air so the snowflakes are thinner and form a shape referred to as “plates.” At high humidity there is more water vapor so the snowflakes ❄ exhibit branching, the water molecules collect and bond together and the bond orientation creates straight lines (dendrites) that branch out in different directions causing the star-shaped patterns often associated with snowflakes ❄ Additionally at higher humidity, more water vapor can freeze to form snowflakes so the snowflakes are heavier.

Article: “Why are all snowflakes unique?” (BBC 2022)