Why do some snowflakes have those unique patterns and shapes?

Question

Is there a purpose to why, and how do they get made into those shapes?

Answer 1

I thought snow only fell down in balls.

?

Answer 2

Well this is how it works. When water particles join together to form snow flakes, it depends on how many particles bond and what the temperature is. The temperature will determine what the bond angle is, and also, don't forget that these water particles might bond with pollutants in the air, which can also effect the shape.

So, that is why snow flakes come in different shapes and sizes.

Answer 3

The shape of snowflakes are determined by the bonding angle between the Hydrogen and oxygen atoms in water H2O. Initiall a snowflake starts as a small particle. If the temperature is at our above freezing, it will just layer on the particle and you get sleet.

If the temperature is just a little below freezing, the snowflake initially forms a needle-shape. Then the branches of snowflake begin to form arms on the needle at 60° angles, forming the traditional six-sided snowflake. This slows the descent and more branches are added to make big fluffy snowflakes.

If the temperature is very cold, you just get fine powdery particles.

Answer 4

They all have unique shapes, not just some.

The flakes are water, frozen almost one molecule at a time. As the crystal grows, it takes various shapes, as various as number of possible combinations of molecules sticking to each other.

However, the difference can rarely be seem with naked eye, you need a microscope.

Answer 5

Snowflakes have general hexagonal shapes because they are the crystalline form of water.  However, they still come in a great variety of shapes including plates, stars, rods, etc. Their shape is determined by where in the cloud that they were formed and what the temperature was.  You can find out more about the different types here http://www.its.caltech.edu/~atomic/snowc...