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CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The following is written by WCNC Charlotte Chief Meteorologist Brad Panovich as part of the Weather IQ series Control Valve
As a kid, I grew up loving snow. That's why I got into meteorology.
So about 11 years ago, I built my first snow gun, and then about eight years ago, I upgraded to my combo gun.
I've been able to make snow in my backyard for fun but also for the science of what it's like to make snow.
The combo gun combines air and moisture inside a chamber and by decompressing it, ice crystals form and then fall to the ground.
So here's the cool science part. We're taking air and water from my air compressor in a power washer and we're mixing it together in a chamber, but there are some key parts of the snow gun.
The top two nozzles are shooting out supercooled water from the pressure washer but it's the bottom nozzle that is the nucleation nozzle.
🌩 ️ If you like weather, watch Brad Panovich and the WCNC Charlotte Weather Team on their YouTube channel, Weather IQ. 🎥
The nucleation nozzle allows for the water particles which are cold and floating in an artificial cloud to collide and form ice crystals and fall to the ground as snow
Waiting around for natural snow doesn't cut it for the resorts in the Southeast either. They've got to take things into their own hands.
As annual average temperatures warm, and natural snow becomes harder to find, resorts like Beech Mountain Resort have upgraded their snowmaking abilities. For the first time this winter, the resort is using new technology that allows them to make snow even when the temperature is above 32 degrees. This allows them to keep ski and snow tubing activities open more frequently.
If you want a great weekend project, here are the instructions on how you can build your own backyard snowmaker. It really is a cool project and a great science experience to do with the kids.
Contact Brad Panovich at bpanovich@wcnc.com or follow him on Facebook , Twitter and Instagram .
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