Snowflake Riddles: 30 Frosty Snow Science Riddles with Answers on Riddlepedia
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Snowflake Riddles: 30 Frosty Snow Science Riddles with Answers

30 riddles · tap Hint or Answer to reveal

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Every snowflake begins high in a cold cloud as a speck of dust that catches water vapor and freezes. As it tumbles down, it grows arms, and by the time it lands on your mitten it may have six delicate branches. Then you blink, and it melts. Snowflake riddles are a great way to slow down and look at all the science packed into something so small.

These 30 snowflake riddles start with the fun of a snowy day: sleds, snow angels and snowballs. The medium round covers how snowflakes form and the Vermont farmer who first photographed one, and the tricky round has the words scientists use for snow and a careful look at the famous “no two alike” saying. Every fact in the answers is true.

Easy Snowflake Riddles

I’m a tiny piece of ice that drifts down from a winter cloud. Many of me have six points, and I melt on your tongue. What am I?

Hint
Catch me on a dark mitten to see my shape.
Answer
A snowflake

Lie on your back in fresh snow, sweep your arms and legs back and forth, then stand up carefully. What did you make?

Hint
Look for the wings.
Answer
A snow angel

School is closed because the roads are covered in snow, so you get to stay home and play. What kind of day is it?

Hint
Listen for the news on the radio early in the morning.
Answer
A snow day

I’m round and cold, and I’m thrown in winter fights where nobody gets hurt. What am I?

Hint
Pack snow tightly between your gloves.
Answer
A snowball

I’m built from big rolls of snow stacked on top of each other, with a carrot for a nose and sticks for arms. What am I?

Hint
I melt away when spring comes.
Answer
A snowman

I keep your four fingers together in one warm pocket, with your thumb in a room of its own. What am I?

Hint
I come in pairs, and I’m not gloves.
Answer
Mittens

Most snowflake stars have the same number of arms. How many?

Hint
It’s the number of legs on an insect.
Answer
Six

I’m a big snowstorm with strong winds. I blow so much snow around that it’s hard to see across the street. What am I?

Hint
My name starts with B and has a double Z.
Answer
A blizzard

I’m a ride made of wood or plastic that you steer down a snowy hill. Then you have to pull me back up. What am I?

Hint
Some kinds of me are called toboggans.
Answer
A sled

Snow is made of ice, and ice is clear like glass. So what color does a pile of snow look?

Hint
Light bounces off all those tiny crystals in every direction.
Answer
White

Medium Snowflake Riddles

A snowflake begins when water vapor freezes onto something very small floating in the cloud. What could that tiny thing be?

Hint
You can see it floating in a sunbeam in your room.
Answer
A speck of dust. Bits of pollen or salt from the sea can work too.

I was a farmer in Jericho, Vermont. In 1885, I became the first person to photograph a single snowflake, and people nicknamed me after it. Who am I?

Hint
My first name is William’s short cousin, plus “son.”
Answer
Wilson “Snowflake” Bentley

Over his life, the Vermont snowflake photographer took pictures of about how many snow crystals: 50, 500 or more than 5,000?

Hint
He kept going for more than 40 winters.
Answer
More than 5,000

I’m the classic snowflake shape, with branching arms like tiny ferns. My name comes from the Greek word for “tree.” What am I?

Hint
My name starts with “dendr-.”
Answer
A dendrite

Why does the world sound so quiet after a fresh snowfall?

Hint
New, fluffy snow is full of tiny air pockets.
Answer
Fresh snow absorbs sound. The air pockets soak it up like a sponge.

Snowflakes form in clouds that are colder than the temperature at which water freezes. What is that temperature in Celsius?

Hint
It’s the starting point of the Celsius scale.
Answer
0 °C, which is 32 °F

I’m a big truck with a wide blade on the front. After a snowstorm, I push snow off the roads. What am I?

Hint
My name ends with a farm tool for turning soil.
Answer
A snowplow

I’m a dome-shaped house built from blocks of snow, used by Inuit hunters on long trips across the ice. What am I?

Hint
My name has two O’s at the end.
Answer
An igloo

Water molecules join up as they freeze in a pattern with six sides. That’s why snowflakes have six sides or arms. What is a six-sided shape called?

Hint
Honeycomb cells have this shape too.
Answer
A hexagon

Not all snow crystals are stars. In clouds a few degrees below freezing, some grow into long, thin rods, like tiny sewing tools. What are they called?

Hint
You thread them.
Answer
Needles

Tricky Snowflake Riddles

In a cloud, water vapor can turn straight into ice without becoming a liquid first. That’s how snowflakes grow. What is this jump from gas to solid called?

Hint
The word also means placing something down, like money in a bank.
Answer
Deposition

I start out as a snowflake, but tiny drops of cloud water freeze all over me until I look like a soft little foam ball. My name is a German word. What am I?

Hint
My name starts with “graup.”
Answer
Graupel

Each snowflake’s arms grow a little differently depending on the temperature and dampness it meets on its trip down. So what can you say about two big, branching snowflakes?

Hint
No two flakes take exactly the same trip.
Answer
They’re almost certainly different. Tiny, simple crystals can look alike, but nobody has found two matching big, branching flakes.

In 1936, a Japanese scientist became the first person to grow snow crystals in a laboratory, and he showed how temperature and moisture change their shape. Who was he?

Hint
His family name starts with N.
Answer
Ukichiro Nakaya

To cut a paper snowflake with six points, you fold a square sheet in half, then fold it into how many equal parts?

Hint
The first fold already doubled everything, so the second fold only has to finish the job.
Answer
Thirds

A snowflake has 6 arms. Each arm has 3 little branches on each side. How many little branches does the snowflake have?

Hint
Find the branches on one arm first.
Answer
36 branches. 3 × 2 = 6 per arm, and 6 × 6 = 36.

It snowed 2 inches every hour for 5 hours. Then the sun came out and 1 inch melted. How deep is the snow now?

Hint
Multiply first, then subtract.
Answer
9 inches. 2 × 5 = 10, and 10 − 1 = 9.

I’m a snow crystal shaped like a short column with a flat plate stuck on each end, a bit like a spool of thread. What am I called?

Hint
My name says what’s on top of the column.
Answer
A capped column

Which is heavier: a ton of snow or a ton of ice?

Hint
Read the question again.
Answer
Neither. They both weigh a ton.

School usually starts at 8:00, but because of snow there’s a 2-hour delay. What time does school start today?

Hint
Count two hours forward.
Answer
10:00

Snowflake Activities for Kids

  • Catch and look: on a snowy day, chill a piece of dark paper or a dark mitten outside, then catch flakes on it. Read the dendrite, needle and capped column riddles, and see which shapes you can spot with a magnifying glass.
  • Paper snowflake contest: after the folding riddle, everyone cuts a six-pointed snowflake. Hang them up, and each correct riddle answer earns a vote for your favorite.
  • Snowball toss: crumple paper “snowballs” with a riddle number on each. Toss one into a bucket, read that riddle, and keep the snowball if you solve it.
  • Snow day sort: sort the riddle answers into “things you do on a snow day” and “snow science.” Which pile is bigger?

Want more winter puzzles? Try our snowman riddles, these snow riddles or our weather riddles.