why do snowflakes form in the patterns that they do?
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The hexagonal shape that snowflakes form into is because **hexagons are a highly efficient shape.** [They are the best shape for filling up something with equal size units, while not wasting space](https://www.labroots.com/trending/videos/10939/ever-wonder-why-there-are-so-many-hexagons-in-nature#:~:text=Well%2C%20as%20it%20turns%20out,of%20its%20120%2Ddegree%20angles). You see lots of hexagons in nature for this reason — for instance, honeycomb.
**As for the patterns of the “branches” of a snowflake — it’s because they are formed while falling. They are exposed to varying temperatures, humidity levels, and wind patterns as they fall.** Each of those elements impacts how the branch crystallizes.
Imagine that you have a ball of dough, or clay, or chocolate — liquidy but in the process of drying. The environment will change how it dries. If you put it in a really really hot room, it will get melty and flatter. If you put it in a really cold room, it will stay round. If you blow on it with a leaf blower, it will splatter all around.
Well, the water molecules that make up a snowflake go through the process of _crystallizing_ as they fall through the air. Each “branch” of the hexagonal snowflake is like the substance in the example.
One second, the air might blow on the water in a certain way, or make it really really cold, or a bit warmer… and so you end up with crazy complex, unpredictable patterns.
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