Winter in the temperate climate zones brings snow. Crystallized water droplets form the basic building block for snowmen, snowballs, beautiful white landscapes and plenty of shoveling!

Why then are the recent storms in the North American East causing such uproar in the American media? Headlines like "Snowmageddon" and "Snowpocalypse" suggest that dense winter snowfall is a rare and unexpected thing.

Although extreme winter storms can sometimes create havoc with roads, is there some benefit from this unique element of God's creation, besides skiing and sledding?

The treasury of snow

Water itself is a unique piece of physical engineering. It keeps the surface of the earth in aqueous solution and can be liquid, gas, solid or semi-solid like snow.

Snow is really a blessing—it insulates the ground from hard freezing, keeping roots and bulbs alive and works like mulch to keep trees and shrubs alive during bitter cold. When it melts, snow raises water levels, keeping the soil moist and arable.

The divine Creator of the universe had an extensive conversation about meteorological manifestations with a man named Job. After suffering a series of family and financial tragedies, Job still carried the misconception that he alone could ultimately determine his own future.

Then God asked Job, "Have you entered the treasury of snow, or have you seen the treasury of hail, which I have reserved for the time of trouble, for the day of battle and war?" (Job 38:22).

Weather played an important part in the conversation, until Job realized his all-too-human insignificance compared to the power of God, Master Creator of the universe.

Weather has in fact impacted wars waged by aggressors like Napoleon and Hitler when their powerful armies invaded Russia only to suffer defeat to "General Winter."

Predictions

How much do we know about and how much control do we have over the weather? If you watch the evening news, you might get the impression that your local meteorologists claim some kind of influence over the weather. To some extent they can predict the weather for the short term, but change the weather? No way.

What about the longer term? This year's particularly cold temperatures in the eastern half of the United States, parts of Europe and elsewhere have come at a symbolically awkward time for international proponents of the theory of global warming. The 2009 climate-change conference in Copenhagen came in the midst of a significant snowstorm and on the heels of revelations of embarrassing e-mails that showed some had doctored the results of their research.

The debate on global warming aside, weather shifts have occurred throughout history, and the more we learn about them, the more we discover we don't know. Many long-term weather patterns are the result of phenomena like El Niño and La Niña. These ocean temperature changes direct and affect how dry or wet various regions will be for one or more years.

The Creator sends weather patterns for our benefit, correction or to impact world events. To learn more about the latter, read "Disastrous Weather—Acts of God?"

Snow, "snowmageddon" or other weather—we can learn from it all, whether we savor crops that moisture helps to grow or enjoy the beauty of snow-covered terrain on a moon-lit evening. VT