[Quiet Man Cometh]

Originally Posted by ZenKitty

We have that wet, dense snow here. I bought a Prius last year and it's got the lowest front bumper ever. Last winter wasn't bad so I don't know how it will handle it our typical snow. They don't plow the roads in my subdivision and there are frequently 8 to 12 inch (20 to 31cm) hills of snow in-between the tire tracks. My friend up north (who gets light fluffy snow usually) said the one time she tried to drive in that kind of snow, she got stuck.

We'll see what happens this year.

Yup. It's something to do with the moisture and temperature, I figure. Big flakes happen when it's a higher temperature, and there is more time for the flakes to build up before they fall. Like up to -5 C or so. Smaller flakes when it's drier and colder. Wet snow is evil to trudge through (you can run through the light fluffy stuff) but it makes good snow things. The dry snow where I used to live doesn't have any moisture in it to make it stick, so you need to add water if you want to make anything, or use your hands to partially melt the snow.

The evil thing is that it's all light and fluffy until you move it. I've heard it's about the dry flakes being incredibly fragile. When they first settle, the little arms knot together and the air in between the flakes makes things nice and fluffy. If you move it, the little arms break and the snow flakes settle flat into a pile that you need a hammer to get through. Seriously, I've hurt things encountering it.