variants. The main constituent shapes for ice crystals, from which combinations may occur, are needle, column, plate, and rime.

Formation

Snowflakes nucleate around mineral or organic particles in moisture-saturated, subfreezing air masses. They grow by net accretion to the incipient crystals in hexagonal formations. The cohesive forces are primarily electrostatic.

Nucleus

In warmer clouds, an aerosol particle or "ice nucleus" must be present in (or in contact with) the droplet to act as a nucleus. The particles

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