Recent Comments

Is It OK to Eat Snow?

Boy eating snow

Short answer: It depends.

The CDC’s Stay Safe During & After a Winter Storm page includes a section on what do you if you’re stranded in cold weather. Among the answers — Wrap your entire body, including your head, in extra clothing, blankets or newspapers; Stay awake, you will be less vulnerable to cold-related health problems; As you sit, keep moving your arms and legs to improve your circulation and stay warmer; — and they also warn, “Do not eat snow because it will lower your body temperature.”

But that’s assuming that you’re stranded in cold weather.

What if you’re just in your own backyard, with easy access to a heated room and warm food and beverages?

Again, it depends.

When’s the last time someone put down pesticide on your lawn? How is the air pollution in your area?

The safest way to get water from snow is to melt it in a pot over a stove, and then bring it to a boil for a few minutes to kill any harmful bacteria.

Can you eat snow? If you can find freshly fallen snow that is clean of dirt and debris and animal droppings, and if no one has put out toxic fertilizer or pesticides, and if the pollution in your area isn’t too bad, then the answer is “most likely, in small amounts, yes.”

Catching a few snowflakes on your tongue? That’s probably OK. Making ice cream out of snow? Not recommended.

Whatever you do, just make sure it isn’t yellow.

snow-2

25 Comments on Is It OK to Eat Snow?

  1. First Class Scout, Patrol Leader, Smokey, the LOST IN THE MOUNTAINS Ranger Bear Cub Patrol, Troop #1776 // January 25, 2024 at 4:49 pm // Reply

    Is it okay to eat snow……from an asphalt driveway?????…OR from a snow cone machine with blueberry flavors plus egg custard or wild cherry flavors??….Is it okay to eat snow that is on an open meadow field that has been visited by a flock of forty geese, twelve swans, one-hundred twenty crows, plus eight blue jay songbirds plus three raccoons, two red fox plus four eastern gray squirrels??…..Probably not.

  2. Harry potter // March 1, 2019 at 9:13 am // Reply

    never eat the pink snow! it has a bacteria that causes diarrhea! 🤢

  3. Chester Cheetah // February 25, 2019 at 9:44 pm // Reply

    As long as it’s not yellow…..but what if it’s pineapple flavored

  4. Yes you can eat snow but DO NOT Eat YELLOW Snow “yuck” and any other color of snow only white 😉

  5. Yes you can eat snow but DO NOT Eat YELLOW snow “yuck” or any other color of snow only white 😉

  6. Delicious

  7. Do not eat pink snow, either. The color is caused by a bacteria.

  8. dirt frozen water ew

  9. like wow, i’ve been eating snow for years and it hasn’t hurt me

  10. However did humanity survive prior to the internet to ask such questions….

  11. Make snow ice cream!

  12. The key quote from this article is “in small amounts”. Snow can actually cause blisters in your mouth if you eat too much. It is always best to melt snow to drink if using snow for hydration.

  13. awesomegamer33233 // April 3, 2017 at 5:32 pm // Reply

    …and isn’t yellow

  14. It sure would be cold!

  15. Could we get snow and mix it with like juice and make snow cones?

  16. Andrew 11.55t // February 21, 2017 at 6:25 pm // Reply

    I love snow

  17. i would too

  18. It’s a mystery…….

  19. It’ll Quanch Ya

  20. Eating snow could get you dehydrated.

  21. scouts Eian and Evan // February 16, 2017 at 7:42 pm // Reply

    awwhh

  22. So basically, you are saying that it is OK to eat snow from the clouds fresh?

  23. But I love yellow snow…..

  24. Its cool how you could eat snow if dont have water it like we could scoop it up and just eat it but i would boil it just incase

Leave a Comment

Please don't use your real name.