As usual we have received a number of interesting e-mail questions from our readers. As to be expected this time of the year, most of them are about snow. James from Sussex saw it snowing recently while the temperature was 35 degrees. He wants to know how it can snow with temperatures above freezing.
Snow is formed in the clouds with temperatures well below freezing.
Usually the temperatures under the clouds to the ground are also below freezing for the snow to make it all the way down. But at times a fast falling flake can remain frozen even if the temperatures are a little above freezing near the ground. I even remember days out west with springtime snowshowers and temperatures in the mid 40s. Richard wants to know how snow is measured when it is windy. During the blizzard of January 2 it was very difficult to accurately measure the snowfall.