That's what you may be singing when Old Man Winter rolls through. But as you already know, Mother Nature doesn't always cooperate.For snow to fall, the right weather conditions have to exist. That means there must be in the air, especially high up in the sky where it can fall to the ground as . The temperature also has to be just cold enough to make the freeze into snowflakes rather than falling as raindrops.Sometimes, it might be below freezing at ground level where you are, yet you get rained upon. What's up with that? Even when it's cold at ground level, it might be much warmer up higher in the , so falls as rain rather than snow.At other times, it might be above freezing at ground level, but you look out your window to discover beautiful snowflakes falling. That means it's probably much colder up high in the .The people who run ski resorts know very well how Mother Nature can be. They try to provide the very best skiing conditions for visitors for as long as possible, and that requires one thing: lots and lots of snow!

Unfortunately, the weather conditions aren't always right for snow. That fact led some clever guys to invent a way to make snow with a machine way back in 1950. While many people call this snow “," it's actually made in much the same way that Mother Nature makes “real" snow.new furnace and ac unit costSnow machines use water and air to shoot tiny water droplets into the air. prices for ac window unitsAs these water droplets hit the cold air, they form ice crystals that fall to the ground as snow. air conditioning unit with hoseSo even if there's not enough in the air to snow, machines can make it snow on command!However, it still has to be cold enough for the water droplets to crystallize into snowflakes. Machines also have to duplicate the process of snow formation as closely as possible.

When real snow falls, the process is aided by dust and other small particles in the air. Modern snow machines spray these same types of particles into the air, along with the water droplets, to help snow crystals form.Of course, you can still make something close to snow even if temperatures aren't cold enough. In really warm areas, ice is sometimes chopped into tiny pieces and blown into the air to simulate snow.Modern ski slopes often feature snowmaking machines that cost millions of dollars and rely upon miles of underground water and -air pipes. They can be used year-round to supplement snowfall, so that a more consistent snow level can be maintained.Unfortunately, skiing professionals point out that snow, while made in a similar way to snow, is still different from snow. They claim snow tends to pack together more tightly and thus becomes icy more quickly. This can be good for ski racers, but those who prefer to ski in fresh powder say it's just not the same!Making snow can also be very expensive — both in terms of money and resources needed.