Getting fresh air after a winter storm is often the hard part, and some people may also want the easy comfort of a cold, sweet snack—whether that’s scooping up snow for a “snow cream” bowl or trying “sugar on snow” like the videos that tend to circulate online. At Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in New Hampshire, emergency and wilderness medicine specialist Dr. Sarah Crockett said she often encourages people to go outside more, and she does not dismiss the idea of eating snow-based frozen treats when the conditions are right. “To stop and just be present and want to catch a snowflake on your tongue, or scoop up some fresh, white, untouched snow that’s collected during something as exciting as a snowstorm, I think that there’s space in our world to enjoy that,” Crockett said. She added: “And while we need to make good choices, I think these are simple things that can bring joy.”
That guidance comes as storm conditions across a roughly 1,300-mile (2,100-kilometer) stretch of the United States brought deep snow and bitter cold, along with freezing rain and ice that knocked down power lines and tree limbs and left hundreds of thousands of homes without power or heating. Snow also disrupted travel and other activity from Arkansas to New England, and as conditions begin to improve, residents in less-affected areas may be more tempted to try snow-based desserts and novelties.
Crockett said the key is not to treat all snow as identical. Snow can look clean, but it is not always clean enough to consume. The science, said Colorado State University snow hydrology professor Steven Fassnacht, starts with how precipitation forms: whether rain or snow, precipitation generally cleans the atmosphere by picking up pollutants as it falls. But he said snowflakes can carry more impurities because they fall more slowly and have more exposed surface area than raindrops.
Fassnacht also pointed to geography and airflow, telling people to consider where the snow came from. “Snow can be eaten, but you want to think about the trajectory. Where did that snow come from?” he said, noting that he had tasted snow in Shinjo, Japan, where he said there were not big industrial complexes upwind. He said the same logic would matter in the United States if snow fell near coal plants or factories that emit particulates into the air.
Timing is another factor that Crockett said can change the risk profile as conditions unfold. She said the first wave of snow holds more particulate matter, and she suggested that one precaution is waiting until a storm is well underway before putting out a bowl to collect falling snow. Ground contamination also matters, experts said, and they urged people to avoid snow that is visibly tainted. Conventional advice includes staying away from “yellow snow,” which may be tainted by urine or tree bark, and Crockett and other experts said it is also sensible to avoid snow pushed by snowplows and packed with road salt, deicing chemicals and debris.
The guidance also draws a bright line between snack behavior and wilderness “survival” advice. Crockett said eating snow to survive is a bad idea, because the energy required to melt snow in the mouth can counter any hydration benefit and can decrease core body temperature—raising the risk of hypothermia. While some outdoor enthusiasts who expect to spend days in the mountains melt and boil snow to purify it for drinking, she said it should not be treated as an immediate hydration source. “If you are disoriented on a local hike, I would say your number one priority is to try to reach out for help in any way you can, … not ‘Can I eat enough snow?’” Crockett said.
Fassnacht, who has studied snow for more than 30 years, said he first tried snow cream last year when students made him some. He described it as a fun experience that led him to think about flavors and textures rather than contaminants. “It’s a whimsical thing,” he said. “It made me think about what are the characteristics of that freshly fallen snow, and how does that change the taste sensation?” Crockett said she sees value in the wonder of being outdoors, but she also warned that excessive fear could backfire—particularly for children.
Crockett said overprotective parenting and repeated warnings may contribute to anxiety in young people, and she said telling children that “everything is going to harm me” could worsen how they experience risk. “We have to strike that right balance of making sure we’re avoiding danger while not being so protective that we encourage this ‘Everything is going to harm me’ mentality, particularly for children,” she said. She added that she has four children, including a daughter who described herself as a “passionate snow eater,” and Crockett said her daughter told her that eating snow makes her feel “connected to the Earth.”
Overall, experts said eating a small amount of snow is probably fine in places with generally clean air, but staying away from plowed snow is a sensible precaution. In the aftermath of a storm, the recommendation is to focus on fresh, untouched snow collected during the weather—not shoveled or chemically mixed piles that can carry contaminants. ---