But for snowflakes, water vapour freezes without becoming a liquid. This process is called crystallization. Structures still form around dust particles but crystallization can happen at different temperatures, not just the freezing point. Every ice crystal, whether it forms columns (which can look like needles, hollow columns, or prisms) or flat plates (which can be solid, thin or sectored), will have six distinct points. This hexagonal lattice mirrors the molecular structure of the inner core of the snowflake, in which six water molecules are hydrogen bonded together in a circle, like they’re holding hands.

Snowflakes can consist of one to 200 ice crystals; variance happens with temperature. Slight atmospheric changes in a snowflake’s journey from sky to ground impact how its six points take shape. Since no two fall the same way, and at the exact same temperature or humidity, all snowflakes develop uniquely. However, you can still spot some shared traits.

Check out this macro snowflake photography from Can Geo Photo Club photographer Matt Melnyk, who shot them on his BBQ in Northwest Calgary, and see if you can identify these different formations!