Does the size of snowflakes indicate snowfall amounts?

During a snowstorm, do you take note of the size of snowflakes?

Many of us do and we often think of a classic saying.

“Little snow, big snow” means smaller snowflakes result in higher snowfall accumulation.

“Big snow, little snow,” meaning bigger snowflakes result in less snow.

Both Heather Leslie and Lawrence Spencer recently asked me the same question: is there any truth to that saying? The origins of the saying are unknown, according to Farmers’ Almanac. There is certainly some truth to it, but you also need to consider factors of the development of snowflakes and journey to the surface.

Let’s look at the science of how snowflakes form. Water vapour in clouds condenses onto particles such as dust or pollen and forms an ice crystal. As ice crystals continue to grow, they become heavier and fall towards the surface.

Temperature and humidity play a significant role in the development of snowflakes and can change a snowflake several times before it hits the ground.

We know drier snowflakes result from frigid air in the upper levels of the atmosphere through to the surface. Since the snow crystals are drier and less dense, they can often accumulate more easily.

Wetter snowflakes, on the other hand, occur when the temperature is near the freezing mark and starts melting a snowflake. This allows other flakes to stick to it, resulting in bigger flakes falling to the surface that are denser and compact easily. That makes it harder to pile up.

So, while there is some truth to the saying, a lot of it depends on the type of storm and the processes happening before we even see the flakes flying.