can it ever be too cold to snow?

Answer 1

There is no fix temperature at which it is "too cold to snow". In theory, no such temperature exists. It all depends on the temperature together with the humidity.

Snow falls from clouds (obviously), and the colder the clouds are, the more likely they are to release snow.

If the air is very cold, it's common that the snow that falls takes most of the moisture away from the clouds and the atmosphere. No new clouds will form due to the lack of moisture, and hence the snowfall will stop as the clouds dissolve.

I think the idea that it can be too cold to snow comes from the fact that when the sky is clear, it's colder than when the sky is cloudy (I mean in the winter, of course, and especially in the areas of the world where the winter nights are long). And if there are no clouds, there will be no snow either - so a very cold night means that there will be no snow.

(There may be ice crystals falling from the sky even if there are no clouds. Under certain conditions, if the sky is clear and the temperature low, ice crystals may form "out of nothing" and fall to the ground. These ice crystals are, strictly meteorologically speaking, not considered snow.)

Answer 2

The amount of moisture the air can hold goes down as the temperature goes down. If it gets low enough then yes, it can be too cold to snow.

But you have to keep in mind this is the temperature where the snow forms, not where you are. If a warmer air mass is overhead it can create snow that will fall no matter how cold it might be at ground level. So you cannot say because it is cold it will not snow.

Answer 3

In theory, no, it can never be too cold to snow. Realistically, yes, once the temperature falls below a certain point the air will become so dry that no precipitation will take place. A good example of this is the climate of Antarctica, where extremely cold temperatures make it one of the most arid deserts on Earth.

Answer 4

definetely not. I was actually wondering the same thing myself and i heard it on the weather channel yesterday. As long as you have moisture in the air to feed it, then no, it can never be too cold to snow. The rain and snow that falls isn't about the temp, it's about the moisture. But the best snow usually falls when the temp is right around freezing.

Answer 5

Yes and I wish year after year that we would have a white
Christmas.I have been in Georgia for almost 50 years and have
only seen maybe 12 very good snow days that I can remember. If it just started snowing on Christmas Eve then left the day after Christmas we only need about 8 to 10 inches.

Answer 6

Yes. It could be so cold that the snow would freeze into something else.

Answer 7

It can snow at any temp as long as the freezing level is below about 800 feet. But the colder the air the less moisture it can hold.

Answer 8

No, it can snow even at incredibly cold temperatures as long as there is some source of moisture and some way to lift or cool the air. It is true, however, that most heavy snowfalls occur with relatively warm air temperatures near the ground - typically 15°F or warmer since air can hold more water vapor at warmer temperatures.

Answer 9

Simple answer..yes! i've been in weather where it was only 32-40 degrees f. and not snow, but i was in weather where (-40c.&-40f. meet at this temp. and it is just cold plus after that) where it was too cold to snow...too dry..no humidity or moisture in the air!!

Answer 10

well depends where u want it to snow?
but anywaz the change in the global system will very soon mayb in the next century will cause it to snow even in deserts and might even cause severe summer in the extreme northern apart.