Weather or Not: Salty Snow?

From time to time Todd Gross will be answering some questions here in a column called “Weather or Not.” Got a question, not necessarily weather related, you’d like to ask Todd? Well, ask him. As the wet wintry mix falls on the tail end of a weak storm we stood with our mouths open, heads back, asking why this weather?

If a Nor'easter is coming in from over the ocean, isn't it possible for snowflakes to taste like salt?

No, not really, because the snow flakes are falling from above. Think about this closely.. what is really going on here? The water from the ocean evaporates and rises into the air. It loses its salt component when this happens and then reforms, usually around tiny dust particles aloft very high in the sky. Then they fall as snowflakes, sometimes melting into rain again upon reaching the ground or water below.

However, if there were some salt spray mixed in due to strong winds, those snowflakes would indeed taste salty!

It's coming up on Groundhog Day. We wondered if you would comment on the furry little punk that works to steal the thunder of forecasters everywhere. You've said more than once that anything beyond a 5-day forecast has greatly diminished accuracy, so how does the groundhog know?

He doesn't! In fact, 9 out of 10 years he sees his shadow and predicts a long cold winter. Is it the lights they point at him? Is it the brightness of the reflecting snow? I don't know. I do know that it is one of my favorite movies though!

Groundhog Day has its roots from Candlemas Day, and it is believed to have a history that goes back for centuries. I've never been to Punxsatawney but I will say that this year, winter is really starting to look like it is making a come-back, with much evidence presented on my web page ToddGross.Com. The North Atlantic Oscillation, an indicator of what is going on in terms of the Jet Stream pattern flips to "negative" which means it should turn colder soon, and it may stay that way into March.