The term too cold to snow. Myth or fact?

Question

can it be too cold to snow or is it just an old wives tale

Answer 1

One phrase that is heard from time to time is that, "it is too cold to snow today". In actuality, earth's troposphere is not too cold to snow but rather it is "too dynamically stable to snow". Dynamic stability may be present due to low-level cold air advection, a lack of upper level divergence, and/or a lack of low level convergence. Also, if dynamic lifting does occur it may not produce precipitation that reaches the surface due to low relative humidity values in the lower troposphere.

The ingredients for snow are: (1) a temperature profile that allows snow to reach the surface, (2) saturated air, and (3) enough lifting of that saturated air to allow snow to develop aloft and fall to reach the surface. In a situation when it is said "it is too cold to snow" there is in reality not enough lifting of air that causes snow to reach the surface.

The phrase "it is too cold to snow today" probably originated as a misapplication of the relationship between temperature and the maximum amount of water vapor that can be in the air. When temperature decreases, the maximum capacity of water vapor that can be in the air decreases. Therefore, the colder it gets the less water vapor there will be in the air.

Even at very cold surface temperatures significant snowfall can occur because: (1) intense lifting can produce significant precipitation even at a very low temperature, (2) the temperature aloft can be much warmer than the temperature at the surface. The relatively warmer air aloft can have a larger moisture content than air in the PBL, (3) Moisture advection can continue to bring a renewed supply of moisture into a region where lifting is occurring, (4) Even at very cold temperatures the air always has a capacity to have some water vapor.

If the air cools to truly frigid Arctic temperatures such as -40 C and below then the moisture capacity of the air will be so low that likely not much snow can occur. Only at these extremely low temperatures is the phrase "it is too cold to snow" fairly valid.

At the temperature of absolute zero ( 0 K, -273 C, -459 F) all air including water vapor condenses and loses all molecular energy. The temperature can not cool below absolute zero.

Answer 2

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 troposphere. No new clouds will form due to the lack of moisture; 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 snow.)

Answer 3

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.

Tetro

Answer 4

it can be fact, because in order for snow to form, moisture has to be brought in. The higher the temperature, the more humid the air can be. The reverse is true, the lower the temperature, the less humid it can be, until finally, in places like Antarctica, it's so cold that it's dry as a desert, even though water would freeze in a twinkling if any was present. As a matter of fact, Antarctica is a desert, because of scant precipitation.

Answer 5

It can get to cold to snow. If the weather conditions are to cold then the air is dry.

Answer 6

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Answer 7

Yes, in places I've lived, it does get too cold to snow or rain.

Answer 8

I think it is a fact because some warmth is needed to form the moist flakes when snow falls.

Answer 9

old wives tale.

It is true that cloudless weather is colder since clouds act like a blanket on earth. So it is a few degrees warmer when it snows.

But few degrees are moot when it's -30 outside.

Answer 10

it proabbly means that it gets so cold that the snow turns to ice, hail, sleet, etc. making it too cold to snow!!!