toafletonee anfc Snow. i 2/3r 



house to rights. Hailstorms are usually con- 

 fined to very narrow limits, and they can pre- 

 vail on a grand scale only in hot climates, 

 where we have the conditions for wide differ- 

 ences of temperature between the upper and 

 lower regions of the atmosphere; and, also, 

 where the conditions are favorable, for an 

 enormous amount of absorption of moisture 

 into the atmosphere. 



When snow is formed in the atmosphere, 

 the conditions are quite different from those 

 of a hailstorm; it is usually in a lower plane 

 of the atmosphere, and there is no violent com- 

 motion, as is the case with the latter. A vol- 

 ume of air laden with moisture comes in con- 

 tact with a colder volume of air, when conden- 

 sation takes place, as in the case of rain, except 

 that the moisture is immediately frozen. In 

 this case both volumes of air may be below the 

 freezing point, but one is very much colder 

 than the other. If the snow reaches the earth 

 it will be because the air is below the freezing 

 point all the way down. Snow is formed at 

 all seasons of the year. We may have a snow- 

 storm on a high mountain when we have ex- 

 treme heat at sea-level. 



In summer time of course the snow melts as 

 soon as it falls into a stratum of air with a 

 temperature above the freezing point, and con- 

 tinues its journey from that point as raindrops 

 instead of siiowflakes. In the formation of a 



