Is it safe to eat snow?

Perhaps the last thing people digging out from the massive snowstorms blanketing parts of the country would want is a snow cone.

But it does raise a question: Is snow safe to eat?

What child — or even adult — hasn’t tried to catch a snowflake on their tongue or sampled a bit of snow?

The answer, according to the Cleveland Clinic, is that it depends on the situation. But a little white, pristine, undisturbed, top-layer snow is safe and can create a fun wintertime memory.

“When my kid wants to eat snow, I always think back to when I used to eat snow as a kid,” said Max Huddleston, a certified physician assistant. “I’ll eat snow with them and just enjoy it.”

Dr. Sarah Crockett, who specializes in emergency and wilderness medicine at New Hampshire’s Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, has no problem with people eating a handful of ice crystals or adding ingredients to make snow cones and other frozen treats, per The Associated Press.

“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,” she said. “And while we need to make good choices, I think these are simple things that can bring joy.”

Snow isn’t just pure frozen water. Precipitation, whether snow or rain, cleans the atmosphere, picking up pollutants as it falls, Steven Fassnacht, a professor of snow hydrology at Colorado State University, told the AP. Snowflakes, he said, pick up more contaminants because they fall more slowly and have more exposed surface areas than raindrops.

Air quality decreases in big cities due to the number of cars, trucks, buses, buildings and factories. Air in rural areas tends to be cleaner.

“Snow can be eaten, but you want to think about the trajectory. Where did that snow come from?” Fassnacht said.

The first layer of snow contains more particulate matter, so Crockett suggests waiting until a storm is well underway to sample it. Also, ground contamination is another factor to consider.

When not to eat snow

The Cleveland Clinic offers advice about when to avoid putting snow in your mouth:

• If it’s been disturbed. This includes snow that’s been shoveled, plowed or walked on. “Oil or gas from cars can spill on snow,” Huddleston said.
• If it’s discolored (think yellow, brown or black snow). It may seem like common sense not to eat yellow or black snow, but it bears repeating. “The first thing you think of is urine,” per Huddleston. “But you also don’t know what someone can dump onto snow to cause it to become discolored.”
• If it’s the first layer of snow or the first few hours of snowfall. As those first flakes hit the ground, they mix with all kinds of things that are already on the ground, like salt and fertilizer. “The first snowfall in the first few hours contains more toxins than snow that would fall a couple of hours later,” Huddleston said.

Does eating snow dehydrate you?

Eating snow in a survival situation is a bad idea. While consuming frozen water crystals seemingly would provide hydration, the opposite is true.

“You utilize energy to melt that snow in a drinkable form. You’re using more energy to melt that snow with the heat from your own body,” Huddleston said. “Any hydration you’re getting from eating or drinking snow isn’t as great as the energy you’re using to melt it. So, over time, if you’re consuming a high quantity of snow, in theory, it can dehydrate you.”

Also, eating snow decreases the body’s core temperature and increases the risk of hypothermia.

Crockett said outdoor enthusiasts in the mountains often melt and boil snow to purify it for drinking, but it shouldn’t be viewed 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?’” she said.