Snowfall intensity

• The rate that snow falls is a function of

  • rate of growth of a single crystal
    • which peaks around -15oC
  • and the number of crystals per unit volume,
    • the number can be increased
      • by fragile crystals (dendrites and needles) fracturing
      • by ice splintering during riming
      • fragmentation of large super-cooled drops during freezing

When cloud top temperatures are -25oC or colder the concentration of ice particles is usually sufficient to use up all the condensate in stratiform and orographic clouds

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