Ask A Scientist© Weather Archive

name         Barbie
status       student
age          30s
Question -   What is meant by the phrase "it's too cold to snow"?

If it is too cold, the atmosphere can not hold water.
No water, no snow.
The most prominent example of this is Antartica, the south pole. The
precipitation at the south pole is minimum, to the extent that it is
categorized as a desert. The precipitation that falls does not melt readily.

Harold Myron
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Barbie-

The temperature of the air affects the amount of water vapor it can hold.
Colder air holds less water.  To have a significant snow, you need
significant water vapor in the air.  At temperatures well below freezing
there is not enough water in the air to get much snow.

The exception to this is in places on the lee side of a large body of
water.  Here the air need not hold much water, but only keep blowing.

Larry Krengel
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