Why does building a snowman sometimes work really well and sometimes not so well?
I’m so excited that it’s finally winter and it will soon be snowing. Earlier, I was thinking about the snowman that Mika and I built last year. To be precise, it was a snow Mika, a snowman in the shape of Mika. It was a very cold day, it had just snowed and I really wanted to build a snowman. But the snow just wouldn’t stick together and the snowball kept falling apart. How did Lukas manage to build such a beautiful snowman over there? I was so curious that I simply asked him. He replied very kindly: ‘I study meteorology, so I know a few tricks that I would be happy to share with you.’ That is exactly what I wanted to know.
“First of all, it’s very important to understand that snow always consists of three things, and all three influence how well the snow sticks together. Everyone knows that snowflakes are the first component. That makes sense! Everyone can see that there is air between the snowflakes when they pick up some fresh snow in their hands. The better the snowflakes stick together, the better the snowball or snowman will be. But what very few people know is that there is always a little bit of liquid water in the snow, even when the temperature is below zero degrees. However, there is so little that you cannot see it with the naked eye. When the snow is compressed, a tiny bit of ice melts where the snowflakes collide, and when it is released again, this water freezes and sticks the snowflakes together. This sticking together works best when there is already some water in the snow and it is between -5 and 0 degrees outside. If it is any warmer or wetter, you only have slush, which you can’t build anything with.”
“That’s really exciting, but how can I still build a snowman when it’s so cold?” I asked him. He smiled and said, “I almost forgot. Feel the snow right here next to the house or on the paved car park over there. It’s a little wetter than on the lawn because it’s a little warmer here. It’s just right for building a nice snowman. And if it still doesn’t work, you might need some help from a strong friend to press the snow together even harder so that it sticks.” Lukas’ tips worked so well that we built another snowman together. Now all we need is some snow so that I can build snowman again this year.
