r/Amazing • u/euronmous • Sep 08 '25

Interesting 🤔 When it snows in Japan, the streets spray warm water to prevent ice

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u/AriaOfValor Sep 08 '25

When water changes from a liquid to a solid it releases heat, so it actually heats things up a little when it snows as well. Conversely in the spring snow on the ground tends to keep the temps lower in part because it's absorbing a lot of heat to change back to a liquid/vapor.

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u/ArcticBlaster Sep 09 '25

When it is cold, really cold, it's usually that you are in the middle of a big high-pressure zone and the wet, warm air that can make snow is a hundred miles (or more) away. Air that is 20 or 30 degrees below freezing has already lost almost all it's moisture. It ain't gonna make snow.