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Airplanes Around Dallas Are Causing It To Snow

by Gary Leff

Feb 14 2021

Lavatory ice (‘blue juice’) isn’t the only snow that planes cause to descend from the sky. When aircraft descend through below-freezing temperatures and high relative humidity (saturated air), they can create snow. Planes aren’t causing snowstorms – just a localized event – but under the right conditions they do cause snow to form and fall to the ground.

This requires water vapor that’s below freezing but that doesn’t form ice crystals because it lacks the particulates on which to freeze.

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Very Cool Science: Airplanes Landing In Chicago Are Causing It To Snow

by Gary Leff

Feb 02 2020

With temperatures below freezing and saturated air (high relative humidity) aircraft descending to land can cause snow. It’s a very localized event, not widespread snow, but snow can form and then fall as a result of planes descending under the right conditions.

This requires “supercooled atmosphere interacting with exhaust” and “water vapor [that is] below freezing but [that] couldn’t entirely transition into ice crystals because of a lack of particulates upon which to freeze.” Then the plane descending through the atmosphere causes snow to form.

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