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A winter storm brought heavy rain and snow to parts of the East Coast this weekend, which got us thinking about snowflakes. Those intricate, whimsical crystals are a staple of magical wintry scenes, but how big can they really get? Well, according to the Guinness World Record keepers, the "

" ever recorded was a whopping 15 inches in diameter. It was spotted near Missoula, Montana in 1887. But 

, a physicist at Caltech, has long been skeptical of that record. So he set out to find what makes a snowflake a snowflake and whether that 1887 record is scientifically possible. You can read more about what he discovered 

Want to share the snowflakes you've spotted this winter? Email us a photo at 

This episode was produced by Chloee Weiner. It was edited by Rebecca Ramirez and fact checked by Nell Greenfieldboyce. The audio engineer was Valentina Rodriguez.

Regina G. Barber

Author

Nell Greenfieldboyce

Chloee Weiner

Snowflakes are a staple of magical wintry scenes, but how big can they really get? We find out what makes a snowflake a snowflake.

Winter storm brings snow to the East Coast. But what's in a snowflake?

Go Deeper.

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