A nuclear physicist by the name of Ukichiro Nakaya came up with a classification system for snowflakes. There are a lot of different kinds of snowflakes, so it’s probably not a surprise that his system divided up the categories for falling snow into 41 different types. Nakaya spent countless hours looking at all kinds of different snowflakes and ice crystals. He photographed each and every one he looked at and cataloged and grouped them into different categories. This went a long way for the classification system since no ice crystal or snowflake was left out. If it was photographed, it was in Nakaya’s classification system. Nakaya was known for a few other things, as well. Not only did he make up a sophisticated classification system for his time, he was also able to create artificial snow crystals in his lab. This was a large step in the understanding of how ice crystals form and why they form in the way they do. He was also able to create different ice crystals by changing the environment in which they were being grown. Another huge step! By 1954, he was able to publish a book on his findings and thus upgrading the classification system used to categorize snowflakes and ice crystals.
Weather Last Week
January 27: 1/49/0”
January 28: 12/55/0”
January 29: 11/54/0”
January 30: 12/52/0”
January 31: 15/57/0”
February 1: 36/55/0”
February 2: 28/57/0.04” Rain
Forecast discussion for the week ahead:
A few cold fronts will be pushing through from the north and that is going to give us some snow chances as we head through the rest of the week and into the weekend. It will also keep our temperatures relatively close to normal, which is near 40 for highs and near 10 for lows. Those cold fronts will bring some wind with them, as well, so the wind chills will have a bite!