Why do people say "It's too cold for snow."?

Answer 1

The colder it is the less moisture the air can hold, so below a certain temperature, which varies with conditions, The air will not hold enough moisture to precipitate anything. Some of the most barren regions in the world are the coldest and recieve very little snow, ie artic environments.

Answer 2

For snow to fall there must be moisture in the atmosphere and moisture enters the atmosphere through evapouration. If the temperatures are sub-zero then there's no evapouration. In this sense, it can be too cold for the snow generating cycle to work.

But... the snow that falls in one place may be the result of evapouration from the seas and oceans hundreds or even thousands of miles away. In other words, a part of the world may be so cold that it can't create snow but snow can be blown in from elsewhere. This is what happens in the polar regions.

Also, as others have said, cold air doesn't have the same ability to retain mositure as warm air does - the colder it is the drier the air becomes. When a mass of air cools down and there's too much moisture, the excess is deposited as precipitation and dew. The result of this being that the colder it is the less liklihood of snow falling.

In short, it's never too cold to snow - even Vostok, the coldest place on earth, receives snowfall. It is true to say that the liklihood of snow falling decreases as the temperature falls.

Many people understandably think that there's heavy snowfall in places such as the Arctic and Antarctic but the snowfall here is very light indeed. The snow never melts so it just accumulates and the snow that's there has built up over thousands and thousands of years.

Answer 3

There are two reasons for an observation of less snow when it's really cold.
The first reason is that the maximum possible moisture content of the air decreases as temperature decreases. So when it's really cold, even if you do get snow it tends to be less snow.

The second is a correlation between really cold days and clear days. Cloud cover provides more insulation than a clear sky does, meaning that it's more likely to be a cold day if it's clear. When it's clear, there isn't likely to be cold. So people associate very cold days with a lack of snow.

Answer 4

Because a low pressure system need moisture to snow. As a system pulls in moisture, the over riding warmer air warms to usually 26-32 degrees. The air in very cold high pressure systems is usually very dry. You don't get the over riding moisture so no snow. One exception is a Alberta Clipper that forms in Canada. The snow that does fall is usually very light and fluffy and it can be colder that a more southerly system.

Answer 5

From my observation: The colder the temperature is..the clearer the sky is; therefore it is too cold to snow!!!

Answer 6

It's an old saying that is actually incorrect - Look at the weather at either of the poles.....Snows there a hell of a lot - well in to the minus figures temp wise.

Answer 7

because if it's really really cold.....it won't snow just like if its cold instead of rain you get snow......it really is too cold to snow.

Answer 8

cold air can't hold as much moisture as warm air, therefore ther's less precipitation