Picture in your mind the largest snowflake you’ve ever seen falling from the sky. It probably wasn’t much bigger than a coin, right? Well, the biggest snowflake to actually ever be reported was much, much greater in size. Supposedly, this enormous piece of snow was over a foot wide, according to IFLScience!
Of course, there are a couple of caveats that come with this information. First of all, the largest snowflake ever reported was seen in 1887. This bad boy was described as being bigger than “milk pans,” which Guinness World Records estimates to have been around a foot and three inches wide. A written account is certainly better than nothing, but photos would have been better!
Second of all, IFLScience also notes that what we call flakes are often large clumps of snow stuck together. So, if you’re picturing a foot wide snow crystal with a detailed pattern, you might be disappointed by the largest snowflake ever. However, there is a record for the biggest snow crystal. It measured in at 10mm, which is more than twice as large as average.
Whether or not the largest snowflake ever reported was really as large as they say, one thing is for sure. The science of snow sure is fascinating!
You can find the source of this story’s featured image here.
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