How do Snowflakes Form?

How do Snowflakes Form?

Snowflakes start as ice crystals that form high in the atmosphere, when water vapor either condenses around a solid nucleus or, under even colder conditions, freezes directly in a process called sublimation. The flakes,typically hexagonal,are infinite in design. Their individuality depends on the temperature and pressure at which freezing occurs. There are seven basic snowflake shapes : Plates, Stellar crystals, columns, needles, spatial dendrites, capped columns, and irregular forms, each associated with temperatures ranging from freezing to -50'F.