How cold does it have to be to snow?

Question

How cold does it have to be to snow?

Answer 1

below 0 degrees.

Answer 2

It just depends on the thickness of the temperature layer near the surface.  I've seen it snow big flakes when it was 38F degrees outside.  It doesn't have to be 32F at the surface, but it does have to be at the temperature or near it just above the surface somewhere.  

The ideal temperature for a really good snow is just below freezing around 25-31F.

Answer 3

The temp does NOT have to be at 32 degrees to snow. The temp can be as high as 40 degrees for it to snow. If the snow is heavy enough, it can bring the cold air aloft down to the surface.  I have seen heavy snow as warm as 40 degrees before, and most of our good snows happen around 34 degrees.  It all depends on the air aloft.

Answer 4

Most precipitation that reaches the ground actually begins as snow high in the atmosphere. These snow flakes develop somewhere above the freezing level where the air temperature is less than 32 F (the dashed blue line), and begin to fall toward the earth as snow. If ground temperature is above 32 F, the freezing level must be located somewhere above the ground. The falling snow passes through the freezing level into the warmer air, where it melts and changes to rain before reaching the ground Once in a while, a very thin layer of warm air is found near the surface and temperatures may be several degrees above freezing. However, since the layer of warm air is so shallow, the snow reaches the ground in tact before it has a chance to melt and become rain. This is how snow falls when the surface temperatures are above freezing.

Forecast Tip:

When forecasting precipitation type, if temperatures are expected to be above freezing, then rain is most likely. If temperatures are expected to be below freezing, then forecast for snow.

How are rain and snow related?

Yes, they are both forms of precipitation, they are not connected to one another though, you can have rain and snow at the same time, and one condition being present or not present will not change rain to snow or visa versa.

How cold does it have to be to snow?

Well one could assume around 32deg F, 0deg C, but that only applies to the formation, once its formed in the atmosphere it can fall anywhere it likes, it'll just change it survival rate in hotter climates.

Can it ever be TOO COLD to snow?

Yes and no, it is known that some extremely cold temperatures are not conducive to precipitation, e.g. the polar regions, and thus the snow doesn't melt but very little is added to it, but there is still snow sometimes in these regions, its just very rare.

Is hale (hail) related to snow?

Yes, they are both forms of frozen precipitation, do they occur for the same reason, no. Hail is formed due to a billed up of condensation on frozen condensation, usually due to heavy updraft in the clouds (storms) the longer the updrafts hold up the ice crystals the larger it gets, theoretically a snowflake could become a hail stone, but its very unlikely, hail stones are formed from large droplets of rain which have frozen in the atmosphere and are forced back up and collect more unfrozen condensation, where as snow usually will get blown around with condensation of the same type, snow.

Mountain regions are more likely to get snow than lower regions because that is the type of weather and temperature patterns they have, but that doesn't mean it can't snow in other areas, if the conditions are right it can even snow in the Sahara Desert, and it has, but as stated above its not all about cold or hot, its about conditions and condensation, its possible to have a region with such low condensation that it in fact almost never rains or snows, and this is by definition what a desert is, so that being known the worlds largest desert, at least due to precipitation, is in fact Antarctica, which gets less precipitation per year than any of the hottest deserts in the world.

So 32 F

Answer 5

Normally, it has to be 32F or lower somewhere in the atmosphere for snow period.

BUT! In some cases, especially the central Midwest areas, in case of cold days with storms, it can snow. This is because the extreme conditions for thunderstorms freezes the precipitation, causing hail and halting thunder and sometimes lightning. It can be 40 degrees or a little bit warmer with thunderstorms and snow can fall.

This happened in Saint Louis, Missouri, the past winter. Snow accumulation was up to 1 inch with highs in the mid 40s.

It can also be too cold to snow in the polar regions: the extreme conditions and wind does not allow for much, if any, evaporation, allowing for no precipitation.

HOPE THIS HELPED!

From,

The Weather Freak

Answer 6

Typically it has to be somewhere between 32-36F for the transition to snow to take place. However, if the cold layer above the surface is thick enough, then it can snow at even warmer temperatures. I personally have seen it snow at 39F in North Carolina before, and there have been many occasions (especially in mountainous areas) where snow has fallen at temperatures >40F. Another thing to keep in mind is that even with temperatures below 32F, it does not have to snow. If there is a warm layer above the surface, then you can experience sleet pellets (small beads of ice that resemble tiny pieces of hail) at the surface or even liquid precipitation in the form of "freezing rain". For instance, in north Houston, TX, I experienced a freezing rain storm (meaning it actually rained normally and then froze on contact with the ground) with temperatures near 30F in January 2007.

Answer 7

32 F.

Answer 8

30 F

Answer 9

It snows everyday!  It's a lot colder up in the atmosphere than it is at the surface.  Any time it rains chances are that it started out as frozen precip!  It just went thru a warmer layer of air that melted it!  But in order for it to remain frozen it needs the air around it to be around the freezing the point which is 32 degrees F.

Answer 10

32F

0C

= freezing