fruityyamenrunner:

In the spirit of full disclosure, I like to point out that well-formed snow crystals like those illustrated in classification charts are not the norm, and most of the snowflake types shown are actually quite rare. You may not realize this from photos you have seen, because photographers invariably present a heavily biased sample of what falls from the clouds. We stand out in the bitter cold for hours on end, searching for especially photogenic examples that exhibit well-formed, strikingly symmetrical features. Exceptionally beautiful snow crystals are a delight to behold, so we work hard to find them. And because most people are not eager to buy a book or read an article showing unattractive snowflakes, those photos do not get published.

To witness an unbiased snowflake sample, you need only go outside during a light snowfall and have a look. Every snowfall has a different character, and certain weather conditions are conducive to producing photogenic crystals. But essentially all snowfalls bring many examples from the “Irregulars” category. These small, somewhat malformed plate-like crystals are extremely common, and some snowfalls deliver little else. I sometimes call this “granular snow” because the crystals look a lot like icy grains of sand.

An unfortunate truth when snowflake watching is that granular snow and rimed crystals are especially prevalent when the temperature is near 0 C, which includes a lot of snowfalls. Because population centers tend to form in moderate climates, and -15 C (5 F) is considered bitter cold by typical standards, the laws of probability suggest that most people will rarely observe exceptionally beautiful snow crystals where they live, even when snow is fairly common