Question: My third grade class at Vass Lakeview Elementary would like to know if it can snow at 42 degrees.

Answer: It is fairly unusual for snow to reach the ground at temperatures much beyond the mid to upper 30s, because this typically indicates a layer of warm air near the surface deep enough to melt snowflakes that fall into it from colder layers aloft. However, there are rare cases in which the decrease in temperature with height is especially rapid, allowing for snow at 40 degrees or warmer.