“No two snowflakes are alike.” I remember my mother telling me this as I ran around the yard chasing snowflakes as a child. Today, I realize that she was right, and we can thank Wilson Bentley, also known as snowflake man, for making this discovery.

Bentley discovered the differences in snowflakes with photography. In fact, he captured more than 5,000 snowflakes in his photographs and never found two that were the same.

So, how can this be?

Snowflakes form in clouds, which consist of water vapor. When the temperature drops to 32 degrees or colder; water changes into ice.

Snowflake formation is a unique process which depends on air currents, temperature, humidity and soil particles.

Soil particles affect a snowflake's weight and durability where as temperature, humidity and air currents influence its shape and size.

Snowflakes generally begin with a six-sided shape that was formed from the lattice structure of an ice molecule.

However, the colder the temperature is the sharper and more intricate the snowflake will be.

Six-sided hexagonal ice crystals are shaped in the high clouds at approximately -30 degrees; star shaped crystals form when the temperature in the clouds is 3 to 10 degrees.

At 10 to 18 degrees plates form, at 18 to 23 degrees columns form, and at 23 to 27 degrees needle structures form.

As a snowflake grows it becomes heavy and falls to Earth. The snowflake may spin as it falls or float down in a sideways fashion, each contributes to snowflakes shape.

Although there are some similarities in how a snowflake is formed, no two are exactly alike. This is because there are so many factors that affect the structure of a snowflake. Uneven temperatures, presence of dirt, and other factors may cause a snowflake to change shape.

In addition, a snowflake's structure is constantly changing in response to environmental conditions.

So as you walk into the snowy outdoors, remember that each snowflake you see is very different and unique from every other snowflake that is falling from the sky.

If you still don't believe feel free to take a picture and discover it for yourself!

Renee Jensen is a community educator of environmental issues at Cornell Cooperative Extension of Cayuga County