Most snowflakes fall at a speed of 1.5 mph, though some can reach up to 9 mph if they have picked up enough moisture to gain more mass.
Your typical snowflake traveling at a speed of 1.5 mph travels a long way before hitting the ground – 45 minutes to an hour.
Some other fun facts about snow include:
- Snow is not white, it’s translucent
- The first ever snowflake photograph was taken in Vermont in 1885
- Chionophobia is the condition of being afraid of snow (that’s different from simply not liking it, of course)
- While it can be too warm to snow (of course), it can never be too cold to snow
- Snow can actually warm you up becase it’s at least 90% trapped air – that’s why animals burrow in the snow for warmth and people can live safely in igloos
- Each winter in the US, roughly 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 (or 1 septillion – that’s 24 zeroes!) fall from the sky