Snow is the precipitation of ice in the form of flakes, clusters, or crystal.The first sketch was made in 1550 by Oleos Magnus, archbishop of Uppsala, and in 1635, the first scientific records were made by French philosopher, Rene` Descartes.These snow crystals often fall to the ground as individual units, but in warmer regions they clump together as they fall, creating snowflakes.The pioneer in this advanced technology was Wilson Alwyn Bentley, a farmer in Jericho, Vermont.Snow crystals are formed in the atmosphere at freezing temperatures when water vapor is condensed to ice without passing through a liquid state.Two centuries later, English meteorologist James Glaser produced a drawing that is considered the most accurate image made before the development of photomicrography.Snowflakes are transparent, like glass, and vary in size from .02 inches to 50 inches in diameter.