- So today's video is about snow.
You know, that stuff that you know all about.
The white stuff that falls in December
when it gets freezing out.
Except that nothing of what I just said is the truth.
That's right.
In this video, I'm going to take the seven
most commonly believed myths that you
likely still believe about snow, and tell you
the truth behind them.
Today we're going to discover just how much
of what you know about those frosty flakes
is truth and how much is Jack Frost trickery.
You might wanna bundle up warm for this one,
because this is Seven Myths You Still Believe About Snow.
Snow is white.
What? It's not? Bwww.
If you ask a random group of people what color
snow is, the majority of them will likely say
white, unless they're scientists or have
seen this video, of course.
That's right, snowflakes are actually clear
like the water that they're made out of.
These tiny pieces of ice are translucent,
meaning that they're not completely see through
like glass, but instead allow light to pass
through them indirectly.
See, the light reflects off of the sides of ice crystals,
scattering it into all of its colors, and even though
this light is likely from the sun and thus
yellow in hue, the human brain works in such
a way that it actually ignores this yellow tint,
which makes us perceive snow as a solid white color.
Ohh, that one just threw you for a loop,
but there's more.
It can be too cold for snow.
A lot of people think that there's a temperature
so low that any precipitation, even snow
and hail, is impossible.
This myth came into being due to the fact
that incredibly cold weather is often accompanied
by exceptionally dry air, which means less
moisture for any precipitation to form.
However, the truth is that snow can be created
and fall at any freezing temperature, provided
that there is enough moisture available
and a way to lift or cool that moisture into flakes.
Blizzards are caused b a lot of snow.
If you live in an area that experiences
sub-zero winters, Toronto uh huh, you'll
likely have heard someone exaggerate that
a large amount of snow collecting on the ground
constitutes a blizzard, but no.
This is simply a stretch of the truth that has
led to a myth being formed that claims that
you need a lot of snow to be classified as a blizzard.
Ah, be we know better, don't we?
According to the U.S. National Weather Service,
it's not the amount of snow, but the strength
of the wind that defines such an event.
The truth is, in order for a snowstorm to be
upgraded to blizzard status, the gusts must
surpass 56 kilometers an hour, reduce visibility
to 400 meters or less, and last for a
prolonged period of time, which is
usually 3 hours or more.
Mountainous areas always get snow
before lower ones.
This one kind of makes logical sense,
but it's just a myth.
There's a belief out there that because
some regions are much higher from sea level
than others, when winter arrives they
will see snowfall first.
While it's true that high rising mountains see
more snowfall due to the atmosphere
at their peaks, it's not always true that they
see the effects of winter first.
According to the National Weather Services
of multiple countries, it is just as likely that
winter will make itself known to low-lying
planes and even the oceans themselves
before the higher areas see even a single flake.
For example, let's look at our friends in Scotland.
Scotland sees the most snow each year
in the United Kingdom, but often it's England's
southern tip that gets the most snow.
He, he, southern tip.
Sorry, I'm like a 5 year old.
You don't need to scrape snow off
of your car's roof.
We all know someone like this.
You know the type you just kinda want to
give a little tap, tap, tap in the face, huh, huh.
Now some of you might be confused as
to why this one made this list.
Well the reason for it is because a large
number of people believe that you can
leave snow on the roof of your car,
but believe it or not, you can't.
In fact, it's actually illegal in most places.
Too many people pull out of their
driveways after only brushing the snow
off of their windshield and windows,
leaving a nice pile of snow on the roof
of their vehicle.
But man, what can that cause?
I'll tell ya.
What happens is that that snow is eventually
going to come off on its own,
usually when your car hits a higher
speed on the highway, and it's either
going to cover your rear window or the
windshield of the person directly behind you.
That sounds safe, doesn't it?
And for those places where it's not illegal,
as soon as that snow hits your back window
and blocks your view, you're breaking the law anyway.
So this winter, please brush the roof of your car.
This message brought to you by the Matthew Santoro
wants you not to be a dick group.
Snow only falls when the air temperature
is below freezing.
Have you ever been outside when it's snowing
and think, it's too warm for this to be happening.
Well, yeah, but it's not magic, let me explain.
More often than not, when snow's coming down,
the air temperature in that area is below
zero degrees Celsius of 32 degrees Fahrenheit,
but even though a snowflake is indeed
frozen moisture, that doesn't mean that
the outside air temperature needs to
be below the freezing point.
Persistent rain that's falling through air
that's as warm as 6 degrees Celsius
will gradually decrease the air's temperature,
which in turn decreases the rain's temperature
until it becomes snow.
Science!
In other words, you're still outside feeling
that 6 degree temperature, but the snow
was still made at zero degrees or less.
December sees more snowfall than any other month.
If you're anything like me, you like to see
lots of snow around December, specifically
Christmas time, and then none at all.
Unfortunately, since that's not the case,
and I haven't quite yet developed my wizard
powers to control the weather, we at least
can rely on the holiday months seeing
the most snow, right?
Sadly, wrong.
On average, January and February both see the most snow.
In my hometown of Toronto, December
brings us 24 centimeters, while January
brings 37 and February 27.
It's so lovely to drive in the snow.
Uh, nothin' better.
In 2014, weather services monitoring
Central Park in New York reported that
while only 2.54 centimeters fell in December,
January saw 43 centimeters, and February
saw 34.5 and March, this is gonna make you sad,
brought down an incredible 47.2 centimeters.
But hey, I love living in Canada!
It's ok if there's chilly temperatures.
We have...
Justin, Justin Bieber, dammit.
Speaking of chilly temperatures, warm up
your finger by pressing the subscribe button
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catch my next video.
I upload every Tuesday and Saturday,
and don't forget to add me to Twitter,
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on your timeline.
Try to warm you up digitally, which doesn't
really help when it's like zero degrees out.
But, I'll do my best.
See you guys later. Peace.
Meeeuuhhhaa.