This is the time of year that at just about any time, we might see some ice crystals floating around in the air. There are many different reasons for this and the most obvious is because it’s snowing. Ice crystals are usually the beginning stage of a snowflake and, well, that just makes sense! But there are other times that there are ice crystals in the air and it’s not because of snow. Sometimes it’s just so very cold that whatever little moisture may be in the air during one of those super cold sunny days that it freezes and you can see the sun glistening off of these tiny crystals. There are many types of ice crystals and snowflakes out there in our atmosphere, so many, in fact, that it’s become necessary to classify them. So quite a while ago, a few people went out and did just that. Back in 1951, a simple classification system was devised by the International Commission on Snow and Ice (I would have loved to be on that panel). It narrowed everything down to seven different types which included needles, columns, dendrites, plates, stellar crystals, capped columns and irregular forms. This wasn’t the first attempt at a classification system but it was the first that was accepted and used by many.
Weather Last Week
January 13: 10/34/0”
January 14: 13/34/0”
January 15: 9/27/0”
January 16: 16/51/0”
January 17: 16/39/Trace
January 18: -7/16/Trace
January 19: -17/11/0”
Forecast discussion for the week ahead:
Temperatures are going to be a little up and down the next several days. Near 30 for a high on Thursday, then close to 40 on Friday, then back down into the 20s for the weekend. Light snow is possible late Friday into Saturday, then dry into the week ahead.