What causes snowfall?

+1 vote
asked Dec 26, 2017 in Weather by Oikoo (260 points)
What causes snowfall in the winter?

How cold does it have to be before snow falls out of the sky?

1 Answer

0 votes
answered Dec 30, 2017 by Shawn (104,230 points)
Snow forms when the air is cold enough for water in the clouds to freeze. It's basically rain but the rain turns into snowfall when it's cold enough to freeze the rain water that falls out of the clouds.

It usually snows when it's 35 F or below. I've seen some snow in my area though when it was 40 F out so it can snow when it's a little warmer.

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