Why does it snow more often at night than it does in the day?

[benny3008]

Anyone got any ideas? You'd think it would be the other way around cuz the temperature drops at night and lower temps mean less likelihood of snow....

[bednobs]

i dont think thats strictly tru .... it often warms up a little before it snows because there has to be cloud cover

[S_C]

it is only true as the snow is mostly happening in winter when the daylight is at its shortest , otherwise there is no real differance .

Joke answer : -
Because snow is bashful/shy so comes out when its dark

im sorry i know i had weather explained regarding snow / hail / rain a number of years back but the exact specific's currently elude me so i wont comment on the temprature part as i coul get it completely wrong

[Old_Geezer]

If lower temps mean less likelihood of snow, why are the poles covered in white stuff yet the equator seems not to have much of it at all ?

[S_C]

ok ill attempt to answer the temp question . however if someone knows better i will not mind being corrected.

clouds form at high altitude and can change altitude hence fog .


tempratures at higher levels are actualy cooler than close to the earth simply because the suns heat warms the earth and that warms the air close by.

h2o gases rise in this higher temprature until they reach the cooler air where the gasses mix to create water droplets " clouds" . the cooler the high level gets the more frozen the water droplets get . and the more dence the clouds get the bigger the droplets get .

now if it isnt cold enough to actualy freeze these dropplets prior to them becoming to heavey to stay in the upper atmospher they drop as rain .
however if they do get to freeze " and dont become to dence " then it will fall as frozen water droplets known as snow.
As long as the warmer are close to earth isnt to warm it will continue to drop as snow until it lands.
However if the colder air closer to the earth is so cold the air becomes dense then those snow droplets maybe able to float on this layer of thicker air, until it gets warmer and the air thins enough for the snow to fall. Or the droplets become to beig and heavey to stay afloat on the winds.

if the higher level clouds are so dence they freeze the water to a point where the ice droplets freeze hard these can combine on the way down and become hail " gathering more and more frozen drops on the way down and becoming more and more compact.


as for snow at the poles and not the equator , thats simple as its the equator thats closer to the sun than any other part of the planet, and this means the suns heat is more intence here , keeping the landmass and water in this area warmer so any " would be snow " melts on its way down through the atmosphere.

[S_C]

the poles on the other hand are at the furthest most reaches from the sun and get the least heat to warm any landmass or sea. any snow falling in these regions would remain on the landmass / previously fallen snow or even formed ice for a long period " thousands of years in fact " so with that taken into account it wouldnt have to snow much for that snow stop build up over time.


i hope that explains it for you in " laymans " terms , and i hope i have gotten the reasoning for the theory.
However as stated before i will not mind being corrected.

[S_C]

alternatively check the net : )

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow

[Bert]

Such ignorance! The land at the equator is near to the sun than the land at the poles by about 4000 miles. The Earth is 93,000,000 miles from the sun, so the difference is about 0.004% - insignificant. The actual reason is because the rays of the sun are "slanting" at the poles and more or less "straight on" at the equator. The energy contained in 1 square metre of sunlight warms up 1 square metre of ground at the equator, but a much larger area at the poles. So the temperature rise is much less at the poles.

[S_C]

as stated i dont mind being corrected ,
also as stated its something i learned about many years ago and most of which i couldnt remeber . not being a weather man or having anything to do with weather " hardly supprising really.
thank you for correcting me as to why the equator is warmer .

however as for your rudeness and ignorance no thanks.
Quote
" Such ignorance! "

yes it can be elaborated in many ways not only the lack of knowledge but also manners .

[Bert]

Sorry S C. Perhaps that remark was a little intemperate. But why would someone who doesn't know much about the topic try to answer the question? I suppose you had thought your explanation was correct so you didn't know that you didn't know.

[S_C]

for the best part my knowledge of the subject is over 20 + years old and most of which which i stated in the previous post i had forgotten and therefore could be inaccurate , however after this post another question regarding the subject was posted.

i felt obliged to attempt to try help and answer the question. all be it with " rusty " memories.
To the best of my knowledge the information is for the best part correct , even that which you yourself pulled me up on , however it was not complete and i had only figured in one factor of such information as you yourself figured in another factor , in actual fact we are both correct and neither have given a full or complete account as to why the equator is warmer. for instance neither has mensioned the hours in a givemn time that direct sunlight hits this section of the planet compaired to the poles or the currents of the sea's that help to maintain this heat .
although my explination was not complete and was "rusty" i felt it would help to answer the question possed .

[Booldawg]

Haha, LOL. This is going to end in a 'History Today' sketch between Bert and SC;

'you see that Eddie the Eagle Edwards? Thats your mum that is'