Man-made: This is how industrial snow is created

Inversion situations are weather situations in which particulate matter accumulates in the colder air layers at ground level. According to the Weather Lexicon of the Geosphere (formerly the Central Institute of Meteorology and Geodynamics, ZAMG), “industrial snow” as precipitation is created “by the emission of water vapor and condensation nuclei from large industrial installations, from thermal power plants or from domestic fires, which high fog layer freezes and sometimes sublimates again (direct transition from water vapor to ice crystals)”.

Industrial snow is more difficult to predict
This snowfall occurs locally in urban areas – and, unlike conventional snow, is also more difficult to predict.

Only near large industrial facilities
The presence of “large” industrial plants in areas with high fog in the winter months is present in Austria in the Vienna and Graz basins, but also in the Mur-Mürz furrow in Styria, as well as in the Klagenfurt basin in the south and the western Danube Valley in Upper Austria. “These industrial facilities operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week and provide the extra moisture and aerosols needed, which ultimately increases the risk of industrial snow,” the experts say. However, domestic fires (burns in private households such as stoves, fireplaces, heating stoves) should not be underestimated, although this has decreased in recent years for environmental reasons.

Differences from conventional snow
Industrial snow also differs from conventional snow; according to the weather dictionary, they are more often ice crystals rather than snowflakes due to the lower fall height – it is therefore often called snow dust or glittering snowfall. It also sticks to surfaces more easily, which in turn can lead to slippery roads. And because it is made using industrial facilities, it is also more contaminated with pollutants than ‘normal’ snow.