2007-02-10 04:58:44 · 6 answers · asked by Will B 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Weather
Nope. It's a common misconception. The coldest place on the Planet is Antarctica and there's plenty of snow there.
The idea of it being too cold for snow stems from the fact that when it's cloudy the clouds keep a certain amount of heat trapped near the Earth and when the clouds clear then the temperature drops.
As snow falls from clouds, a sudden drop in temperature caused by clearing skies is sometimes associated with the snowfall stopping so people might observe that "it's too cold for snow"
2007-02-10 05:01:04 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yes and no.
Snow is moisture in the air that has frozen into ice crystals which in turn have formed into snow flakes. In order for mositure to enter the atmosphere in the first place it has to evapourate and it does this mainly from the seas and oceans. If it's sub-zero then there's no evapouration and one of the links in the snow generating cycle is broken.
However, air masses are constantly moving around the planet so the snow that falls in one place could have started life in the oceans hundreds or even thousands of miles away. It is possible, even in the coldest of climates, for snow laden air to be blown in from elsewhere.
But... the cooler air gets the less moisture it can contain. As a mass of moisture laden air rises or mixes with colder air it cools down and the excess moisture is deposited as snow. It's for this reason that temperatures around freezing point see the greatest amount of snow fall and why, as the temperature falls, there's less chance of snow. There are many other factors to take into consideration - weather dynamics are complicated at the best of times.
The earlier comment about snow in Antarctica makes sense on the face of it. However... the snow that falls there never melts and what's there now is the accumulation over millions of years. If the same thing happened in say Ontario it would be buried under snow several thousand miles thick.
In short - it's never too cold to snow but the chances diminish as temperature falls.
2007-02-10 14:30:09 · answer #2 · answered by Trevor 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
It definatly can not. An example of it is the State of Alaska
2007-02-11 00:36:21 · answer #3 · answered by Justin 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
no. the colder it gets the less moister so there is less snow.
2007-02-10 15:25:11 · answer #4 · answered by Bob B 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No. Ask yourself this-Can it get too warm to rain?
2007-02-10 13:03:18 · answer #5 · answered by Paul BS 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
No, it cannot.
2007-02-10 13:02:05 · answer #6 · answered by sunshine07 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋