Life-cycle of a snowflake?

Question

Does the snowflake come out of the cloud like that, with all those patterns? Or does it come out like a regular rain drop, but then it freezes, and all those little patterns appear? But if it's like that then why doesn't snow just look like a frozen rain drop?

Answer 1

Snow is frozen water vapor, not frozen water. Frozen water drops form sleet, not snow.