With lingering subzero temps, can it really get too cold to snow?

Dangerously cold temperatures returned to Michigan last night. Much to our dismay, they'll stick around through Friday morning. 

While we got a couple inches of snow on Monday, snow isn't in our forecast for the next few days. Is that because it's "too cold to snow?"

To dig into this question, let's go over what it takes for snow to happen. 

You need to have the right temperature and you need to have moisture. When those two things come together snowflakes start to fall.

Typically though the colder it gets the dryer the air is. That's where the idea comes from that it can be "too cold to snow." Scientifically though it's not really true.

Take Grand Rapids, Mich. for example. Wind chills there are in the negative temps as well this week but they've got snow on the radar. That area has the moisture they need for the snow to begin falling. 

If you want to get really scientifically acurate - yes, it can be too cold to snow. But it would have to be 273 degrees below zero Celsius - that's absolute zero, or 0 degrees K - and that is just not something we'd ever experience. 

Meanwhile the cold temps are expected to stick around through Friday morning. 

You can keep an eye on weather conditions, school closings, and more with the FOX 2 Weather App. You can also get the FOX 2 News app for immediate traffic conditions and more news.