Prof. Katsuhiro Kikuchi, a highly regarded ice and snow researcher from Hokkaido, Japan, kindly mailed me a copy of his wonderful new book (coauthored with Dr. Masahiro Kajikawa). Never before has there been anything nearly as complete as this book in describing and showing all known types of falling snow. It is called "Picture Book of Natural Snow Crystals” and published by the Hokkaido Shinbun News Paper Co., Sapporo. 

The only issue for most of the readers here is the fact that it is written in Japanese. This issue though does not mean one cannot learn a lot from the pictures. Here are a few sample pages: 

First, the broad-branch planar crystals P4d, P4e, and P4f: 

Next, some basic combination forms (columnar and planar), specifically CP1a and CP1b: 

A few of the above have been named after the Japanese-type drum "tsuzumi" due to their resemblance to this drum. Next, a type named for its resemblance to a flying seagull, the CP9a and CP9b: 

Finally, a sample of the many explanatory diagrams: 

The above diagrams explain how some crystals transform from a frozen sphere ("droxtal"), which all snow-crystals begin as (excluding broken fragments), to the larger forms we see on the pages. About these crystal images, Prof. Kikuchi collected them from a range of locations he visited including his nearby area of Hokkaido and Honshu, and further north and south, to the Arctic, Greenland, and the South Pole. So, though it may be possible, don't expect to see all these forms in your neighborhood. 

Overall, it is an amazing book, and I wish we had something like it in English. 

- JN