Why Am I S.A.D.?

Today’s guest blog was written by Kathleen Corcoran

The cold is pressing in, the days are short and dark, and colorful gardens are sleeping and gray. It’s easy to get a case of the Winter Blues, but you might also be dealing with something a little more insidious – Seasonal Affective Disorder. If you notice a pattern of depressed moods at the same time every year, you might have S.A.D.

What Causes Seasonal Affective Disorder?

Also known as S.A.D., this subset of mood disorders causes depressive symptoms at the same time every year. Unlike regular depression, S.A.D. comes and goes regularly with the changing seasons.

Though winter-pattern Seasonal Affective Disorder is more common, some people suffer from the mood disorder in the summer. In both varieties, the change in mood coincides with the change in temperature and length of daylight.

The causes of S.A.D. are not entirely clear, but researchers believe it may be related to serotonin, melatonin, or Vitamin D levels. Some scientists believe the change in daylight hours interferes with the brain’s ability to absorb serotonin. Others point to changes in daylight hours messing up melatonin and sleep schedules. Another common hypothesis is that lack of sunlight causes a vitamin D deficiency, leading to mood disruptions.

Other factors that may contribute to winter-pattern S.A.D. include environmental causes. Cold weather often forces people indoors, curtailing opportunities for exercise and social interaction. Fresh fruits and vegetables are less accessible, and those available in grocery stores are generally less nutritious after being force-ripened or shipped long distances. Winter holidays might also contribute to S.A.D., both in the stress leading up to them and the letdown after they’ve passed.

Symptoms of S.A.D.

The symptoms of S.A.D. are very similar to those of general depression, including empty moods, lack of energy, and loss of interest in usual pleasures and hobbies.

In addition, winter-pattern S.A.D. often includes symptoms that make the sufferer look a bit like a hibernating bear:

  • Oversleeping
  • Overeating, particularly of carbohydrates, leading to weight gain
  • Social withdrawal (feeling like “hibernating”)

On the other hand, summer-pattern S.A.D. can cause symptoms that are nearly the opposite:

  • Trouble sleeping
  • Poor appetite, leading to weight loss
  • Restlessness and agitation
  • Anxiety
  • Violent or aggressive behavior

S.A.D. History

Knowledge of Seasonal Affective Disorder goes back at least 2500 years! The Greek physician Hippocrates (c 460-377BCE) noted the correlation of seasonal changes and both mania and melancholia all the way back in the 4th Century BCE. Aulus Cornelius Celsus (c 25BCE-50CE) blamed bad weather for a spike in melancholia, madness, and epilepsy.

Some ancient physicians recognized the role of sunlight in treatment for S.A.D. The Greek physician Aretaeus of Cappadocia suggested treating lethargics by laying them in the light and exposing them to the rays of the sun.

Fast forward a few thousand years, psychiatrist Norman Rosenthal noticed that his moods fluctuated much more in the winter after moving from South Africa to New York in 1976. He conducted a study with the National Institute of Health on the relationship between melatonin, light, and mood. In 1984, the NIH research group published the results of their study, naming Seasonal Affective Disorder for the first time in print. The American Psychological Association recognized S.A.D. in 1990 as a mental disorder.

Since that time, many advances in science and medicine have created more effective S.A.D. treatments. Scientists were able to make full-spectrum lamps all the way back in the 1920s, with a combination of incandescent and fluorescent bulbs, but those bulbs are now easier to make and more effective to use. New anti-depressant medications have had promising results in trials for treating Seasonal Affective Disorder. People with S.A.D. can now download phone apps to track circadian rhythms, monitor hormone levels, or set a morning alarm that gradually increases light to mimic dawn.

S.A.D. Treatment

Treatment for Seasonal Affective Disorder overlaps in many ways with treatment for other forms of depression. However, the external factors involved in S.A.D. mean that there are some different options. For one thing, the seasonal nature may allow those affected by S.A.D. to anticipate and prepare for changes before symptoms start to occur.

  • Light therapy
  • Dawn simulators
  • Maintaining a regular sleep schedule
  • Exercising outdoors or next to a window
  • Seeking out socialization
  • Psychotherapy
  • Antidepressant medication
  • Vitamin D supplements
If you suspect your “Winter Blues” may be a sign of something more serious, please don’t hesitate to seek treatment. In the US, you can text 988, call (866)903-3787, or visit https://988lifeline.org/ to speak with someone immediately.

HOT DRINKS, THEY’RE EVERYWHERE!

Especially in winter, hot drinks have a special appeal after skiing or shoveling or when the heating system is on the fritz. And sometimes just for the pleasure of it.

In areas without easy access to safe drinking water, many people prefer to boil all water. Having a hot drink can be a convenient excuse to boil water before drinking it.

Here, for your consideration, are hot drinks galore, from the routine, tried and true to the truly exotic.

Water-Based Drinks

I have a friend who drinks plain hot water, but she is surely in the minority. Putting aside coffee and tea for separate consideration, here are a few ideas for variations on hot water that don’t even need recipes.

  • Simple additives like a squeeze of lemon, a little sugar, molasses or honey, or some other favorite flavoring such as vanilla, blackberry syrup, etc.
  • Consider heating un-carbonated flavored water.
  • Herbs, spices, and supplements can make for a very refreshing and sometimes medicinal beverage when mixed with hot water.
  • And then there is herbal “tea,” made with water and anything other than Camellia sinensis or Camellia taliensis leaves, such as rooibos, chamomile, or peppermint.  This is very convenient, given that there are many varieties commercially available.
  • Broths and bouillons: water heated with cubes or paste flavored as vegetable, chicken, beef, or whatever.

Coffee-Based Drinks

Coffee isn’t singular. There are over a hundred different types of coffee plants, but only four main types of coffee beans that are commercially produced: Arabica, Robusta, Liberica, and Excelsa. Arabica and Robusta beans are the most popular, making up well over 90% of the market.

The first consideration is black or with various additives. Popular additions include milk of whatever sort, cream, creamer, whipped cream, ice cream, condensed milk, evaporated milk, butter, sugar, sugar substitutes, flavored syrups, or other sweeteners.

A thorough examination of coffee-based drinks is clearly beyond my purpose here. Suffice it to say, the Folgers website alone lists the following:

  • Espresso, 7 versions
  • Espresso with coffee, 4 more versions
  • Cappuccino
  • Mocha
  • Lattes, 2 versions
  • Breve
  • Macchiatos, 2 versions
  • Cortado
  • Dirty Chai
  • Dalgona
  • Dessert Coffees, 5 versions
  • Turkish Coffee
  • Cuban Coffee
  • Galão Coffee
  • Antoccino Coffee

Hot Tea

And then there is real tea, made of leaves from the Camellia plant. Aside from water, tea is the most consumed beverage in the world. There are roughly 1500 types of tea, categorized into a few main types: 

  • Black tea, a fully oxidized tea that can be dark amber to black in color. Some types of black tea include Assam, Darjeeling, Ceylon, and Pue Yunnan. 
  • White tea, a naturally oxidized, non-processed tea that has a floral and fruity aroma. Some types of white tea include Pai Mu Tan and Yin Zhen. 
  • Green tea, a tea that is minimally oxidized to retain its natural green color and fresh flavor. Green tea may have health benefits such as boosting heart health and lowering cholesterol. 
  • Oolong tea, a distinct tea varietal native to Taiwan and Fujian province in China, has properties somewhere between green and black tea. It is a semi-oxidized tea, best steeped for 2–3 minutes at a temperature of 195°F. 
  • Pu-Erh tea gets its smoky, earthy flavor from extended fermentation. After drying in the sun, pu-erh leaves are rolled into a pile and left to ferment for several months, then steamed, compressed, and dried again.

At Oh, How Civilized!, tea and coffee sommelier Jee Choe has provided recipes for a number of hot drinks. Some of these are not tea, in the strict sense, but they don’t clearly fit anywhere else in this blog.

  • Ginger spice
  • Pumpkin spice chai latte
  • Hot citron tea
  • Decadent chai latte
  • Easy chamomile tea latte
  • London Fog (Earl Grey tea latte)
  • Decadent hojicha latte
  • Matcha hot chocolate
  • Decadent Earl Grey hot chocolate
  • Easy matcha latte (using green tea powder)
  • Chocolate mint tea latte
  • Milk tea
  • Rooibos tea latte (this “red tea” is a South African herb)
  • Quick and easy Moroccan mint tea
  • Jujube ginger tea (jujube is a Chinese red date)

Juice-Based Hot Drinks

At its simplest, just heat your favorite juice, such as orange, apple, prune, or whatever.

Hot lemonade (hot water with honey and a bit of lemon) has been a common treatment for sore throats and stuffy heads for centuries.

Hot apple juice is not terribly popular, but its unpasteurized and unfiltered cousin, apple cider, is a very popular hot drink in the fall and winter.

Simply mixing boiling water with a bit of fruit preserves or compote makes a type of hot juice drink, warming and mildly sweet.

Or fancy it up a bit, for example, tomato juice with a dash of Worcestershire, or prune heated with a bit of lemon peel.

Milk-Based Hot Drinks

While some drinks already mentioned might arguably be lumped in with “milk-based” hot drinks, the ones that follow are undoubtedly so.

There is the classic, pure cup of hot (dairy) milk, especially appropriate for nighttime because it contains tryptophan. The brain uses this essential amino-acid to build both serotonin and melatonin, compounds that help us relax and prepare for sleep. Although the amount of tryptophan is small, don’t discount placebo effects, plus the effects of warmth and a full stomach!

Salep in Ankara

Now there are numerous non-dairy milks available: soy, oat, almond, cashew, macadamia, pea, quinoa, rice, and maybe others I don’t know about. Consider these alone or in the options listed below.

You can find the following recipes at Through the Fibro Fog:

  • Honey ginger warm milk
  • Turkish salep drink
  • Cardamom milk
  • Nutmeg milk
  • Spiced milk
  • Turmeric latte
  • Golden turmeric milk
  • Plus 2 recipes for steamers and 2 for sweet drinks

Looking farther afield, you can find recipes like hot spiced vanilla custard milk (at The Peasant’s Daughter).

Hot Cocoa and Chocolate

Last but not least, hot chocolate and hot cocoa!

Last because you probably thought of it immediately; not least because it’s such a favorite. The basic questions are, with or without marshmallows, with or without a sprinkle of chocolate or cinnamon on top. Beyond that, what are your favorite flavorings? Peppermint? Maple?

Hot cocoa and hot chocolate are technically two different drinks! Mixing hot water or milk with cocoa powder and sugar will give you hot cocoa, which is what most of us in America think of. However, melting solid chocolate and mixing it with hot milk will give you hot chocolate, a thicker and richer beverage.

If you need a recipe, consult any cocoa tin, any comprehensive cookbook, or go online. Or, for a very simple recipe, you could just heat pre-made chocolate milk.

Try Mexican hot chocolate, with cinnamon and chili powder. Or, for a French variation, melt chocolate with cream until it is barely liquid enough to drink.

For a lighter take on hot chocolate, consider steeping cacao husks. Martha Washington reportedly enjoyed an infusion of roasted cacao husks with her breakfast!

Hot Alcoholic Drinks

Here again, recipes are everywhere in cookbooks and online. And you might note overlap with some of the preceding categories!

Hot toddy is a wintertime favorite. The classic hot toddy is made with hot water, sweeteners like honey or sugar, whiskey (often bourbon), and a stick of cinnamon or star anise.

Another popular wintertime drink is mulled wine. Mulled wine is dry red or white wine heated and spiced with cloves, star anise, and cinnamon sticks, often with oranges.

Because of the lack of pasteurization, apple cider and perry (cider made from pear juice) ferment and become alcoholic very easily. Hot Buttered Spiked Cider, besides the title ingredients, uses dark brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice, rum, orange peel, and cinnamon stick.

  • Spiked hot chocolate or a hot peppermint patty
  • Bailey’s hot chocolate
  • Amaretto coffee
  • Irish coffee
  • Spanish coffee
  • Hot buttered rum
  • Ginger bourbon
  • Cinnamon and tequila
  • Apple brandy hot toddy
  • Whiskey chai
  • Gaelic punch, using young Irish whiskey
  • Sake

Bottom Line: There are myriad ways to drink yourself warm from the inside out, not to mention warming your fingers as well. Go for it!

LET THERE BE LIGHT

Candlelight Vigil in Seoul, Korea

As the Winter Solstice approaches, many people are feeling a little low—or a lot.  Fortunately, there are several holidays and celebrations around this time of year to add a little light to your schedule. Here are just a few:

Diwali or Deepawali is a festival of lights celebrated by Hindus, Sikhs, and Jains. It is celebrated in mid-October to late November, according to a lunar calendar.

Hanukkah is a Jewish festival of lights celebrated in November or December, according to the Gregorian calendar.

Kwanzaa is a celebration of culture and community celebrated in late December. An important part of the celebration involves lighting the kinara.

Lussevaka or Santa Lucia Day is a celebration of light, community, and the triumph of good over evil. It is primarily celebrated in Sweden, but St Lucia festivals are also held in Croatia, Italy, France, Germany, and Norway on December 13.

Yule is celebrated in many different ways by Pagans and Wiccans. It is the celebration of the Winter Solstice, the return of the sun. This is often symbolically represented by burning a Yule log, signifying the rebirth of the Oak King and waning of the Holly King.

Don’t Be SAD

Daylight Sky Light Therapy by MTS Medical Device

There is a term for those who suffer most when the days grow short: SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder).  SAD increases in higher latitudes where the winter days are short. Light therapy, where you arrange a special wide-spectrum light therapy box device at an angle to your face. Using such a device for several hours at the same time every day can be used to treat SAD. It can also help treat those who have depression all year round, improving their overall well-being.

Anger management therapy can sometimes be combined with light therapy.

Scientists have also discovered that light therapy can lower nighttime agitation in Alzheimer’s patients and reduce symptoms in Parkinson’s patients, including sleeping problems and tremors.

Whether sick or healthy, light definitely affects your mood. According to research, one in four people in Alaska suffers from depression – and it’s mainly caused by a lack of sunlight.

Sunshine Cures Everything

Superman may have had a bit too much sunlight.
“No One Can Save Us Now”
by Mojoko and Eric Foenander
Singapore Art Museum

Sunshine can also help with pain control. Research shows that patients whose beds are on a sunny side of a hospital experience less pain than those whose rooms are in the shade. As well as reduced pain, patients in sunny rooms tend to recover sooner, use fewer painkillers, and feel less stressed. One theory is that exposure to sunlight releases serotonin: a feel-good chemical in the brain.

High solar activity has been found to increase fertility rates. Furthermore, light can also give men a boost in the bedroom. Research has shown that higher testosterone is boosted by Vitamin D. The biggest source? The sun. A light box would have the same affect, but is possibly less romantic than a sunny picnic or stroll along the beach.

As far as I can tell, the health benefits of sunlight are all attributed to Vitamin D effects on/in the body.

Fake Light

Aside from the health benefits of light, many practical applications have lead to the creation of light when there is no sun—primarily the benefits of being able to see in the dark! 

Over the centuries, we’ve seen many advances in created light.

Campfires really create a sense of community!
(Thanks to H.R.Joe Photography)
  • Fires, the first source of created light
  • Torches
  • Oil lamps, precursors to candles
  • Candles (beginning around 500 BCE in Rome) 
  • Lanterns
  • Matchsticks
  • Flashlights
  • Fluorescent lights
  • Incandescent lights
  • LED’s 
  • Plasma Lightsabers
Traditional oil lamp for Diwali

Until the 20th century, candles were most common in Northern Europe. In Southern Europe and the Mediterranean, oil lamps predominated.

Besides providing light, candles were used for the purpose of measuring time, usually in hours. The Song Dynasty in China (960-1279) used candle clocks.

Kerzenhur- Candle Clock

A version of a candle clock is often used to mark the countdown of the days leading to Christmas. This is called an Advent candle.

Note: This term is also used for candles that decorate an Advent wreath.

Among the earliest forms of created light, candles have had the greatest staying power into modern times for numerous uses. An estimated 1 billion pounds of wax are used in the candles sold each year in the United States.

FYI: No candle wax has ever been shown to be toxic or harmful to humans.

Advent Wreath
  • Holiday decorations
    • Shaped candles for specific holidays
    • Candles for tree decorations
    • Menorah candles for Hannukah
    • Kinara candles for Kwanzaa
    • Nine candles in a lingonberry wreath for Santa Lucia Day
    • Advent wreath candles (marking the four Sundays leading up to Christmas)
    • Candles for windowsills (to guide the Holy Family in their flight to Egypt) 
Loy Krathongs – Thai Floating Lanterns
  • Lighting paper lanterns
  • Lighting and lifting sky lanterns
  • To produce a romantic mood
  • To make a dinner table more formal 
  • As backup for a power failure
  • To dispel unpleasant household odors
  • To test for drafts
  • Scented candles for pleasure and/or aroma therapy
Very Formal Dining Table

As the days grow shorter and night falls like a rock earlier and earlier, many people light candles around the house, even when they have electric lights, simply because the warm glow is cheerful. Which brings us back to human craving for light!

Cold Light

Gas lights were developed in the 1790s and were in common use in large cities by the middle of the nineteenth century. Streetlamps made the night safer (in wealthy areas) and gas piped into houses allowed (wealthy) homeowners to ignore the setting sun.

Too bright!

The invention of the electric-powered incandescent light bulb was even more effective in making the sun obsolete. Since electric lights have become nearly universal, ideas like a 24 hour workday and cutting sleep to work more have become nearly as universal.

Newborn incubators, refrigeration, pacemakers, surgical lighting, heated houses, underground ventilation, and electric harp string tuning meters are undoubtedly beneficial to human society. However, humans in general have become increasingly sleep-deprived and overworked since the spread of electricity. Heated and lighted houses have also made humans more likely to stay indoors all winter, avoiding direct sunlight. This leads right back to the beginning of this blog – Seasonal Affective Disorder.

Bottom line: Humans need light for a multitude of reasons, and in a multitude of forms.

Massive forest fires can’t stop Oregoners from playing golf. Maybe it’s not giving off enough light.

HOLIDAYS FOR DAYS AND DAYS

Here in the US, we tend to associate the entire month of December with celebrating Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Yule, Bodhi, and other holidays celebrating family, giving, and the days finally getting longer again. But there are a lot of other holidays in December! Some are international, like World AIDS Day (December 1st), and some are relatively local, National Illinois Day (December 7th).

Are we all supposed to visit Illinois? Does Illinois become the center of government? I’m not sure how this holiday works.

Many of the major religious holidays celebrated in December feature lights, reminding us to hope for spring in the northern hemisphere. Yule logs are burned, Kwanzaa and Hanukkah candles are lit, Christmas trees are wrapped in strands of LED bulbs, just like in days of yore. In the southern hemisphere, similar holidays take place in June. Some anthropoligists estimate that Australian Aborigines may have the been the first people to recognize and celebrate the turning of the seasons in June.

Because it’s Australia, they celebrate by swimming naked in the coldest lake they can find.
Australia again! There are 14 indigenous languages featured on their new coin.

December is the last chance we have to celebrate 2019 as the United Nations‘ designated Year of Indigenous Languages, Year of Moderation, and Year of the Periodic Table of Chemical Elements. You can practice moderation by learning only 1,000 of the 2,680 languages currently in danger of disappearing! Memorize only half of the periodic table!

Celebrate the glory of this fruit all month! And watermelons.

You can also celebrate your favorite causes or interests all through December. Not only is December International Human Rights Month, it is also Stress-Free Family Holiday Month (seriously?!) as well as Quince and Watermelon Month.

There are plenty of serious holidays and observances in December. There are too many to list here, but this is a sampling from around the world.

  • International Day for the Abolition of Slavery (December 2nd)
  • Pearl Harbor Remembrance (December 7th)
  • Kazakhstan Independence Day (December 16th)
  • South African Day of Reconciliation (December 16th)
  • Remembrance Day for Roma and Sinti killed by Genocide (December 19th)

Best of all (in my opinion) there are plenty of bizarre, odd, strange, perhaps even weird holidays in December. Every day of the month has at least two or three chances to sit back for a moment and reflect on how lucky you are not to be celebrating something that day. A few of my favorites are below, but there are many, many more online!

Mutt!
  • Bifocals at the Monitor Liberation Day (December 1st)
  • National Mutt Day (December 2nd)
  • International Ninja Day (December 5th)
  • Faux Fur Friday (first Friday in December)
  • Pretend to Be a Time Traveler Day (December 8th)
  • Pick a Pathologist Pal Day (December 13th)
  • Cat Herders Day (December 15th)
  • Barbie and Barney Backlash Day (December 16th)
For all your EXTERMINATE needs
  • Answer The Telephone Like Buddy The Elf Day (December 18th)
  • National French Fried Shrimp Day (December 21st)
  • International Dalek Remembrance Day (December 21st)
  • Phileas Fogg Win A Wager Day (December 21st)
  • National Pfeffernusse Day (December 23rd)
  • A’Phabet Day (December 25th) (No “L”!)
  • National Whiner’s Day (December 26th)
  • Fruitcake Day (December 27th, but I think my father is the only person who actually celebrates this)
  • Tick Tock Day (December 29th)

If you still haven’t picked a bizarre holiday, you still have a chance to celebrate Make Up Your Mind Day on December 31st!

Happy Kwanza (December 26th through January 1st)

The Cold Facts About Sex

couple in snow
Who knew winter is the season for sex!

 

When I was reading about snow for my blog of XXX, a number of non-snow tidbits caught my eye. Whether any of these make it into your writing or not is up to you!

 

In “Love and Lust Are Seasonal,” Jane J. Lee reported that men rated pictures of women’s breasts and bodies as more attractive in the winter months, although they rated pictures of women’s faces the same. Could it be that men don’t see women’s bodies as much during the winter, and so are more excited when they do?

 

“Have Your Hottest Sex Ever This Winter” (Men’s Health, 2014) claims that cold weather dulls sexual sensations, and cooler body temperatures decrease arousal for both men and women.

 

Winter cold increases a person’s appetite which can, in turn, lower libido. One more reason to diet: weight gain decreases libido and makes both men and women less sexually adventuresome.

books about sex
My book shelf

Men’s Health also reported that women are 30% more likely to have an orgasm if their feet are warm. This one may be a tough sell. At a dinner party discussion among young married couples about wearing socks to bed, the men were unanimous in declaring that no matter what else is (or isn’t) worn, socks are not sexy! (A social scientist would call this a sample of convenience.)

 

Google searches for porn, boobs, XXX, massage parlor, e-Harmony and Match.com all peak in early summer and around the winter holidays.

 

More than twice as many condoms are sold in the week before Christmas than the week after.

 

Even so, the most frequent birthday in the United States is September 16. You do the math. Conversely, August has the fewest conceptions. (Summer heat kills sperm? The diurnal cycle affects ovary function?)

 

Who knew winter is the season for sex!

 

A final word of warning: Compared to other times of the year, couples are more than twice as likely to think about splitting up between the year-end holidays and Valentine’s Day.

books about sex
More of my bookshelf

Writing Winter Weather

Writing 101: Winter Weather

Like so many other people affected by the recent extreme weather, I had plenty of time to consider snow. And as with so many other things that I consider, I started reading about it. Yes, Elmore Leonard is adamant that you never start a book with the weather—but that is not to say weather is taboo in your story. Your task as a writer is to make weather interesting. As an exercise, consider the following snow-related facts, and how you might fit them into a story in a way that seems natural, preferably relevant to the plot!

neighborhood with snow
Snow January 2016

 

Chionophobia is a persistent fear of snow, especially being trapped by snow. Winter cold kills more than twice as many Americans as summer heat does. Maybe your character has a reason to move to Key West!

snow drifts by house
Snow drifts during January 2016

 

Some parts of Antarctica have had no rain or snow for two million years. Also, snow has never been reported in Key West, FL.

 

On average, an inch of rain makes 10 inches of snow.

 

winter weather in Richmond, Virginia, January 2016

 

Skiing was introduced to Switzerland by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in 1893.

 

Handschuhschneeballwerfer is German slang for “coward.” It means someone who wears gloves to throw snowballs.

 

A snowflake that falls on glacier in central Greenland can take 200,000 years to reach the sea.

 

Conventional wisdom holds that all snowflakes have 6 sides. But according to the Huffington Post, there are triangles, hourglasses, spools of thread, needles, hollow columns, dendrites, prisms, and flat plates as well. Asymmetrical snowflakes are more common than symmetrical ones. Shapes vary by temperature and moisture in the clouds. What sort of person would care about the shape of snowflakes?

 

It’s a myth that no two snowflakes are exactly the same; in 1988, two identical snow crystals came from a storm in Wisconsin. But according to physicists, complex snowflakes are indeed unique.

 

According to The Guinness Book of World Records, the world’s largest snowflake was reported to be 15 inches across and 8 inches thick. While witnesses said the flakes were “larger than milk pans,” these claims have not been substantiated.

 

tree covered in snow, January 2016

 

Snow isn’t white; it’s actually clear and colorless. The appearance of white results from absorbing sunlight uniformly over the wavelengths of visible light.

 

Sometimes snow doesn’t appear white. Orange snow fell over Siberia in 2007. Deep snow can appear blue. Snow can also appear pink (watermelon snow). Snow in high alpine areas and the coastal polar regions contains fresh-water algae that have a red pigment that tints the surrounding snow. Perhaps your character made snowcream with pink snow and all who ate it got sick from the algae.

 

Each winter in the US, at least 1 septillion ice crystals fall from the sky—that’s 1 with 24 zeros. The average snowflake falls at a speed of 3.1 mph.
1 septillion ice crystals fall from the sky

 

An average snowflake is made up of 180 billion molecules of water.

 

Besides snowflakes, frozen precipitation can take the form of hail, graupel (snow pellets), or sleet.

 

The most snow ever recorded in a 24-hour period in the US was 75.8 inches (Silver Lake, CO, 1921). The second most fell in one calendar day, 63 inches, in Georgetown, CO, 1913. In 1959, a single snowstorm in Mt. Shasta dropped as much as 15.75 feet of snow in that California region.

 

Mt. Baker ski area in Washington State has the world record for snowfall: 1,140 inches in the 1998-99 winter season (about 95 feet). Who would be happy about that?

 

80% of the freshwater on earth is frozen as ice or snow, accounting for 12% of the earth’s surface.

 

footprint in snow
Footprint in snow

 

A blizzard is when you can’t see for 1/4 mile, the winds are 35 mph or more, and the storm lasts at least 3 hours.

 

People buy more cakes, cookies, and candies than any other food when a blizzard is forecast. And I thought it was bread and milk! What would your character stock up? Wine? Beans? Oatmeal? Dog biscuits? Toilet paper?

 

The US averages 105 snow storms per year, typically lasting 2-5 days and affecting multiple states.

 

An igloo can be more than 100 degrees warmer inside than outside—and they’re warmed entirely by body heat.

 

According to wikipedia, the Eskimo-Aleut languages have about the same number of distinct word roots referring to snow as English does, but these languages allow more variety as to how those roots can be modified in forming a single word. This issue is still debated.

 

Snowboarders and skiers often distinguish different types of snow by labels such as mashed potatoes, pow pow, champagne, cauliflower, sticky, or dust on crust.

 

Ski lift in snow
By Nathalie Gouzée

 

Nova Scotia holds the record for the most snow angels ever made simultaneously in multiple locations: 22,022 in 130 locations in 2011. Bismarck, North Dakota holds the record for the most snow angels made simultaneously in one place:  8,962 in 2007.

 

The largest snowball fight on record involved 5,834 fighters in Seattle on January 12, 2013.

 

The largest snowman ever recorded was 113 feet 7 inches, in Bethel, ME. Perhaps your character wants to break that record.

 

Rochester, NY, is the snowiest city in the US, averaging 94 inches of snow a year.

 

In 1992, the Common Council of Syracuse, NY, passed a decree that any more snow before Christmas Eve was illegal.  Just two days later, they had more snow. But what’s the story there?
tree covered in snow