Minecraft:Snow

Template:Infobox block Snow is a ground cover and gravity-affectedTemplate:Only block found on the surface in snowy Minecraft:biomes. It can be replenished during Minecraft:snowfall.

Obtaining

Breaking

Breaking snow with a Minecraft:shovel yields 1 Minecraft:snowball per layer Template:In, or between 1 and 4 depending on its height Template:In (detailed below). Minecraft:Explosions, such as by Minecraft:TNT or Minecraft:creepers, also cause snow to drop snowballs in the same amount as if mined with a shovel. Template:IN, snow can be instantly removed by Template:Control a shovel on it if there is no block directly above the snow layer, yielding the same amount of snowballs as when breaking it.

Snowball drops in Bedrock Edition

• 1 snowball for 1–3 layers
• 2 snowballs for 4–5 layers
• 3 snowballs for 6–7 layers
• 4 snowballs for 8 layers

If a shovel is enchanted with Minecraft:Silk Touch, snow drops itself at one item per layer, except for 8 layers, which drop a Minecraft:snow block instead.<ref name="MC-134408">Template:Bug</ref> Breaking snow with any other tool, even if enchanted with Silk Touch, drops nothing.

Snow breaks and drops nothing if:

• Minecraft:water or Minecraft:lava flows into its space.
• Template:In, a Minecraft:piston extends or moves a block into its space.
• Template:In, its support block is removed.

Template:IN, snow breaks and drops 1-4 snowballs, depending on its height, if a Minecraft:ravager walks on it, or if a piston extends or moves a block into its space. 1 snowball is dropped — regardless of the number of layers — if snow falls into an invalid block space after its support block is removed.

Natural generation

Snow naturally generates covering all blocks in Minecraft:biomes with a temperature that allows Minecraft:snowfall, which depends on the elevation (see Template:Slink). Only blocks with direct access to the sky can generate snow layers naturally.<ref>Template:Bug</ref> Template:IN, snow can also generate Minecraft:snowlogged in certain types of vegetation.

By default, snow generates exclusively in single layers Template:In, it can be modified with the max_snow_accumulation_height game rule. Snow generates randomized in multiple layers Template:In, depending on the biome's snow accumulation height.

Snow generates as Minecraft:piles and in multiple layers as part of many snowy plains village structures, which can also be in areas without sky access. Snow also generates in ancient cities.

Post-generation

Weather

In snowy biomes or in cold biomes at higher altitudes, the weather can produce snow instead of Minecraft:rain. In snowy weather, snow generates on random blocks with a complete solid top surface at integer y-values, with a block Minecraft:light level of 9 or less, with the exception of Minecraft:ice and Minecraft:packed ice.Template:Only The rate at which snow forms is affected by the Minecraft:game rule Template:Cd. Template:IN, snow can also generate Minecraft:snowlogged in certain types of vegetation.

Below are the Minecraft:altitudes at which rain ends and snow begins, depending on the biome. The exact height of the snow line is randomized. In taigas, for example, the lowest possible snow layer forms at y level 153, and the lowest height where snow forms at all locations is y=168, with snow lines ranging between y levels 153 and 168 across different locations.

Biome	Layer
Template:BiomeLink	y=-64 (All altitudes)
Template:BiomeLink Template:BiomeLink Template:BiomeLink Template:BiomeLink<ref name="MC-2406972">Template:Bug</ref> Template:BiomeLinkTemplate:Only<ref>Template:Bug</ref> Template:BiomeLinkTemplate:Only Template:BiomeLinkTemplate:Only	120±8
Template:BiomeLink Template:BiomeLink Template:BiomeLinkTemplate:Only Template:BiomeLinkTemplate:Only	160±8
Template:BiomeLink Template:BiomeLinkTemplate:Only Template:BiomeLinkTemplate:Only Template:BiomeLinkTemplate:Only Template:BiomeLinkTemplate:Only	200±8
Template:BiomeLink	356±8 (out of world)
Template:BiomeLink	-64 or 120±8, depending on location
Template:BiomeLink	120±8 or 356±8, depending on location

Template:IN, anywhere from 1-12 layers of snow can build up during snowfall, depending on the biome (see Template:Slink). Template:IN, snowfall creates one layer of snow by default, and the number of layers that can accumulate can be altered by the Minecraft:game rule Template:Cd: the default value being Template:Cd, while setting it to Template:Cd makes no snow form at all, and setting it to Template:Cd or above lets snow form up to the level of a full block.

Snow layers do not generate if the game rule Template:Cd has been set to Template:Cd.Template:Only

Snow golems

Minecraft:Snow golems generate a trail of snow in snowy, cold, and some medium Minecraft:biomes, or any non-dry biome Template:In.

Usage

File:Thicknesses.png

Various thicknesses of snow.

Snow can be placed only on a solid block that is not Minecraft:ice. Template:IN, snow can be placed on a block with the Template:Cd tag, or a block with a full top face and not with the Template:Cd tag. Template:IN, snow breaks if its support block is removed. Template:IN, snow is affected by gravity and falls if it becomes unsupported, and breaks if it falls onto an unsuitable block. A player can jump up 1 block and 3 snow layers.

Cover

File:Snowy Grass Block.png

Snow covered grass block, Minecraft:mycelium or Minecraft:podzol.

If the snow is on a Minecraft:grass block (or Minecraft:mycelium or Minecraft:podzol Template:In<ref>Template:Bug</ref>) the ground cover turns white on the top and around the sides. Snow does not damage tilled and hydrated field areas – it cannot be placed on farmland. A gravity-affected block like Minecraft:sand or Minecraft:gravel does not fall if snow covers the block below it, but the gravity-affected block does replace a snow layer when falling onto it. The texture of the grass block changes to snowy when a single layer of snow is placed on top.<ref>Template:Bug</ref><ref>Template:Bug</ref> Thicker layers of snow causes the grass block to revert to plain dirt when the block receives a random tick, similar to regular grass when covered by an opaque block. A plain dirt block with a single layer of snow on top gains a snowy texture if grass spreads to it.

Snow layers placed on top of Minecraft:nylium revert it to Minecraft:netherrack.<ref>Template:Bug</ref>

Template:IN, if Minecraft:leaves are topped with a layer of snow, Minecraft:particles of snow appear to fall through the leaves from the snow layer.

Template:IN, snow layers can occupy the same space as one-block Minecraft:flowers, Minecraft:mushrooms, and one-block Minecraft:ferns and Minecraft:short grass and can be layered and mined normally. Snow cannot occupy the same block as two-block-tall plants.<ref>Template:Bug</ref> Placing snow on plant blocks causes snow to appear around them, but placing plants into an area where there is snow removes the snow.<ref>Template:Bug</ref>

Melting

File:Redstone Lamp melt pattern.png

Powered redstone lamps melting nearby snow.

Snow melts if there is a Minecraft:heat blockTemplate:Only or block light level of 12 or more. Template:IN, it also melts in biomes without snowfall, regardless of block light or daylight level. If there are multiple layers, layers melt gradually in Bedrock Edition, but they melt all at once in Java Edition.

Some light sources can melt snow but many cannot. The melt radius is Minecraft:taxicab distance.

Item	Template:Tooltip	Light Level
Minecraft:Beacon	3	15
Minecraft:Blast Furnace	1	13
Minecraft:Brewing Stand	-	1
Brown Mushroom	-	1
Minecraft:Campfire	3	15
Minecraft:Candle ×1	-	3
Candles ×2	-	6
Candles ×3	-	9
Candles ×4	-	12
Minecraft:Conduit	3	15
Minecraft:Copper Bulb	3	15
Copper Bulb, Exposed	-	12
Copper Bulb, Oxidised	-	4
Copper Bulb, Weathered	-	8
Minecraft:Copper Lantern	2	15
Minecraft:Copper Torch	2	14
Minecraft:Crying Obsidian	-	10
Minecraft:Dragon Egg	-	1
Minecraft:End Portal	3	15
Minecraft:End Portal Frame	-	1
Minecraft:End Rod	2	14
Minecraft:Ender Chest	-	7
Minecraft:Fire	3	15
Minecraft:Froglight	3	15
Minecraft:Furnace	1	13
Minecraft:Glow Lichen	-	7
Minecraft:Glowstone	3	15
Minecraft:Jack o'Lantern	3	15
Minecraft:Lantern	2	15
Minecraft:Lava	3	15
Minecraft:Magma Block	-	3
Minecraft:Nether Portal	-	11
Minecraft:Redstone Lamp	3	15
Minecraft:Redstone Ore	-	9
Minecraft:Redstone Torch	-	7
Minecraft:Respawn Anchor 1/4 Charge	-	3
Respawn Anchor 2/4 Charge	-	7
Respawn Anchor 3/4 Charge	-	11
Respawn Anchor 4/4 Charge	3	15
Minecraft:Sea Lantern	3	15
Minecraft:Sea Pickle ×1	-	6
Sea Pickles ×2	-	9
Sea Pickles ×3	-	12
Sea Pickles ×4	3	15
Minecraft:Shroomlight	3	15
Minecraft:Smoker	1	13
Minecraft:Soul Campfire	-	10
Minecraft:Soul Fire	-	10
Minecraft:Soul Lantern	-	10
Minecraft:Soul Torch	-	10
Minecraft:Torch	2	14

Foxes

When a Minecraft:fox gets stuck in the snow after missing an attack on prey, it emits particles as it emerges from the snow.

Data values

ID

Template:Edition: Template:ID table

Template:Edition: Template:ID table

Block states

Template:El: Template:Bst

Template:El: Template:Bst Template:Bst

Falling block entity

{{#lst:Falling Block|infobox}}Template:MainTemplate:Edition:

• Template:Nbt: The entity's root tag.
  • Template:Nbt
    • Template:Bedrock nbt
  • Template:Nbt: The number of ticks the entity has existed. If set to 0, the moment it ticks to 1, it vanishes if the block at its location has a different ID than the entity's FallingBlock.Name. If the block at its location has the same ID as its FallingBlock.Name when Time ticks from 0 to 1, the block is deleted, and the entity continues to fall, having overwritten it. When Time goes above 600, or above 100 while the block is below Y=1 or is outside building height, the entity is deleted. Template:Needs testing

History

Trivia

• Snow can be stacked to a full block beside a Minecraft:cactus without destroying the cactus.
• Snow layers of 2 to 7 thickness prevent hostile mobs from spawning.
• In Minecraft:Spectator mode, a player positioned at the correct height can see the snowy texture of the top of the grass blocks.
• Snow sounds were created by Minecraft:Daniel Rosenfeld scrunching a bag of corn starch.<ref>It turns out, there’s a much easier way to get a good snow sound, using a bag of corn starch... Daniel: You just scrunch it [sfx], and that sounds much more like snow than actual real snow.</ref>

Gallery

Screenshots

• Naturally generated snow in a snowy plains biome.
  Naturally generated snow in a snowy plains biome.
• Naturally generated snow in an ice spikes biome.
  Naturally generated snow in an ice spikes biome.
• Naturally generated snow in a snowy taiga biome.
  Naturally generated snow in a snowy taiga biome.
• Naturally generated snow in windswept hills.
  Naturally generated snow in windswept hills.
• Snow generated floating due to a carver cave.
  Snow generated floating due to a carver cave.
• Snow as seen having the ability to bury certain plants.
  Snow as seen having the ability to bury certain plants.
• A fox stuck in a snow layer.
  A fox stuck in a snow layer.

See also

• Minecraft:Snowlogging