What is snow?

Here in Central Pennsylvania, whether you live in Chambersburg, Mechanicsburg, Carlisle, Harrisburg or Hershey snow is something that you have to deal with in the winter time. There is no getting around it and we at Michael B. Stoner Inc. make our livings off of clearing it. So what exactly is snow?

High in the clouds above us are ice crystals. These clouds become a part of a weather system, like a low-pressure system that brings precipitation to us. Numerous variables (moisture, air temperature, pressure…) have to be right in order for those crystals to form snow and result in many different types of snowfall. Flakes can form at any temperature from 32°F down to -40°F.

The microscope has allowed for the study of snowflakes beginning in 1885. A wide variety of different flakes were found all with different sets of patterns. While many were similar, no two were the same. It was found that the shape of the flake was determined by whether or not the prevalent moisture was above or below saturation. Supersaturated air formed the most complex crystals. 80 different shapes were documented during the 1885 study.

Snow comes from several different weather patterns. The most common is a low-pressure system that can bring anything from a few flurries to blizzard conditions. The northern side of this system typically produces the most snow here in the Northern Hemisphere. Cold fronts, or the leading edge of a mass of cold air, can produce snow squalls and are generally short in duration and die out when the cold air mass arrives. For the good folks up in Erie and along the Great Lakes lake effect snow is a constant worry. Cold air masses move along the warmer lakes picking up lake water and turning it into snow. Mountain effect snow can also happen. Masses of air are forced upwards along the sides of mountains by wind resulting in the cooling of the air and leaving drier and warmer air on the leeward side of the mountain and snow on the windward side.

While most of the flakes that we see here in Central Pennsylvania are small, the owner of the Guinness Book of World Records entry for the largest snowflake ever recorded is 15 inches wide at Fort Keogh, Montana in January 1887. The most snow that has ever fallen in one season in the US is at Mount Baker Ski Resort in Washington state during the winter of 1998-99. 95 feet of snow fell! The most snow in a 24 hour period in the US is claimed by Silver Lake, Colorado on April 14-15, 1921 with 75.8 inches of snow. The highest snowfall from one single storm in the US is held by the Mount Shasta Ski Bowl in California getting a whopping 189 inches of snow from February 13-19, 1959.

While we do not have to deal with snow of that magnitude here in Central Pennsylvania we do have to deal with it. If you are looking for someone to provide snow or ice removal services or are unhappy with whomever is doing it for you now give Michael B. Stoner a call at 717-245-2225 or visit our contact page. We have been in the snow control business for thirty years and have experience in all types of winter conditions and can take care of your snow and ice removal needs and are available 24/7 and fully insured.