FASCINATING & BEAUTIFUL NEW SNOW DISCOVERIES NOW

Snow is remarkable, even though it is commonplace for most of the world at some point during the year. We’ve learned about the uniqueness of each flake. We’ve marveled at the beauty in the structure and in the way it turns landscapes into fairylands. And now, new scientific findings reveal even more fascinating facts about snow. We share them with you today.

Dr. Tim Garrett, a University of Utah atmospheric science professor and researcher, is taking pictures of snowflakes in a way that’s never been done before and the results could help forecasters better predict the weather.

Symmetry is extremely rare in nature. While the snowflakes may have started out symmetrical, their shapes changes as they fall through the sky.

Most pictures of snowflakes are taken on glass slides to preserve their perfect shapes.

But now, Garrett, and his partner engineer Cale Fallgatter, have worked with new technology to take thousands of 3-D pictures of snowflakes while they’re still falling. The camera also tracks the snowflake’s speed.

The data will then be used to create better weather forecasting models.

Garrett’s team project currently has two multi-angled cameras located at the Alta ski resort that have been taking pictures for the last two years.

Check out the Multi-Angle Snowflake Camera for a live feed of snowflakes from Alta when it’s snowing, please follow this link to the Snowflake Showcase at Alta Ski Area. Check out this gallery.

The Multi-Angle Snowflake Camera was developed in the Department of Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Utah with support from the US Army, NASA, and the National Science Foundation. It can be purchased through Fallgatter Technologies, a spin-off company from the University of Utah Technology Commercialization Office.

This project is sponsored by the National Science Foundation. The Center for Snow Science at Alta and NoHow Inc. supply field support.

Why does Utah get to boast the “Greatest Snow on Earth?” Atmospheric scientist Jim Steenburgh may have figured it out after 20 years of study. 

Known as the “Professor of Powder,” at the University of Utah, Steenburgh has observed a “lake effect” -- storms that form because of cold air flowing over the Great Salt Lake. This primes the region for perfect snow in October and November at the front of the snow season -- not in the midst of it. 

The famous Utah powder, craved by ski aficionados, is created by what Steenburgh calls “Goldilocks storms” -- storms that are not too big and not too small. They dump 12 to 18 inches of snow on soft, settled base.

These storms produce just the right amounts of snow, stacked in just the right way. It starts out with higher water content and gets drier over time. And it delivers a good deep powder day.

The weather in Utah’s Wasatch Mountains is very localized. In some areas, like upper Little Cottonwood, you can get really large accumulation, while in other nearby regions, hardly anything.

Check out Steenburgh’s new book, Secrets of the Greatest Snow on Earth. And check out Steenburgh’s popular blog, Wasatch Weather Weenies.

Read more about Beautiful Snow, as it relates to Arts/Design, Nature/Science, Food/Drink, Place/Time, Mind/Body, and Soul/Impact including The Most Beautiful Accounts of Beautiful Snow Now.

Enter your own images and ideas about Beautiful Snow in this week’s creative Photo Competition. Open for entries now until 11:59 p.m. PT on 02.8.15. If you are reading this after that date, check out the current BN Creative Competition, and enter!

PHOTO CREDITS:

1. Photo: by Maako Ikeda. Snowflake.
2. Photo: by Tim Garrett. Falling Snowflakes.
3. Photo: by Alexey Kljatov. Snowflake Macro.
4. Photo: by Tim Garrett. Falling Snowflakes.
5. Photo: by Tim Garrett. Falling Snowflakes.
6. Photo: by Tim Garrett. Falling Snowflakes.
7. Photo: by Edson Ramirez (aka yoguietto). Unknown Obstacles. Utah Snow.
8. Photo: by DennyMont. Heli-skiing at Powder Mountain, Utah.
9. Photo: by Edson Ramirez (aka yoguietto). Powder Hound Light Brighton Utah. Utah Snow.
10. Photo: by Edson Ramirez (aka yoguietto). Claytons Peak Brighton Utah Fresh Powder. Utah Snow.
11. Photo: by Edson Ramirez (aka yoguietto). Falling Crystal Snowflakes Brighton Utah Backcountry. Utah Snow.
12. Photo: by Edson Ramirez (aka yoguietto). Long Beautiful Road Brighton, Utah. Utah Snow.
13. Photo: by Edson Ramirez (aka yoguietto).  Midnight Shining Moon. Utah Snow.
14. Photo: by Edson Ramirez (aka yoguietto). My BackYard in Utah Brighton Backcountry. Utah Snow.
15. Photo: by DennyMont. Spring Skiing at Powder Mountain.