During the holiday season, many hope for a white Christmas, and kids love to make snow angels while they are on school break. In Bloomington, Ill., where I'm located, January typically has the coldest average temperatures, with an average low of 19 degrees Fahrenheit and an average high of 33 degrees Fahrenheit. Throughout the day, hourly temperatures mostly stay below freezing, which provides more opportunity for snow to fall rather than rain. January is the month with the highest average snowfall days, totaling 1.9 days. If you are hoping for snow, the most common snowfall period is from January 15 to February 3.

Besides creating beautiful white landscapes and having fun building snowmen, snow also plays an important role in our environment. For example, snow cover helps regulate Earth’s surface temperature. White snow only absorbs a small portion of sunlight and reflects most of the sunlight back to space. Darker surfaces or bare ground absorb more energy, heating up the earth’s surface more quickly. The more land that is covered in snow, the less energy is absorbed at the earth’s surface, resulting in cooling. 

Another environmental benefit of snow is snowmelt. Snowmelt, the process of snow melting, and the surface water produced contributes to rivers and reservoirs. Snowmelt is vital to farmers as it naturally provides moisture back into the soil throughout winter months and replenishes groundwater reserves.  Larger snowpacks also hold water, which melts and releases the water as temperatures rise, serving as a reservoir during droughts.

While humans and animals can hibernate during cold months, plants are left to their own forms of self-preservation against cold weather and snow. Deciduous plants shed their leaves and go dormant during winter while evergreen plants have thick waxy coatings to protect their leaves from freezing and to reduce water loss. An abundance of snow may cause damage to plants if the snow becomes too heavy, but many plants have adapted to snowy climates. Snow can positively act as an insulator for plants too, oftentimes for farmers who use cover crops. Additionally, snow can help reduce soil erosion and hold plants in place during windy winter months.

Snow adds a fun component to our Midwest winters, and without it, our climate would not be the same.