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- Snow forms when the atmospheric temperatures are at or below zero. Water vapour collects around dust particles and ice crystallises. When these aggregate they form snowflakes.
- The Cairngorm Mountains are the snowiest place in the UK. The atmosphere cools by approximately 2°C degrees for every 300 metres climbed.
- Avalanches are caused when weak layers of snow form from dry, powdery snow which are then covered by wind-compacted layers. The top layer literally slides off the bottom layer.
- After being buried by an avalanche, survival chances reduce from 90% to 30% if the victim is not discovered within 15 minutes. Trapped victims die as a result of asphyxiation from their own carbon dioxide.
- The Cairngorm Mountain Rescue Team are called out about four or five times each week in winter.
- The 30:30:30 law says that when the wind speed is 30mph and the air temperature is -30°F (-36°C) you will die in 30 minutes.
- The winter of 1962/63 is the coldest on record in the UK since 1740.
- In the UK the vast majority of people who are killed by snow are killed when an inch or two falls on the roads. When you are driving on snow, remember your car can lose 70-90% of its grip. Beware.
