When speaking about snow in Minecraft we could be referring to several things. Snow can be used to refer to either a block of snow, snow that falls as a weather effect, or the snow that carpets the landscape in cold biomes.
It’s a naturally generated block that helps add depth and beauty to snowy landscapes. However, it doesn’t snow everywhere.
That being said you can also not make it snow just about anywhere. I will explain to you how to make it snow in Minecraft and what uses you have with this block.
Where to Find Snow in Minecraft
Snow can be found in all cold biomes in Minecraft’s overworld or on high altitudes, like mountains and extreme cliffs, under the condition they are not located in hot/dry biomes.
Biomes where you can find snow are:
- Snowy Plains
- Ice Spikes
- Snowy Taiga
- Snowy Beach
- Grove
- Jagged Peaks
- Frozen Peaks
To find snow in a usually not-snowy biome you’d have to climb quite far up.
In biomes like hills, taigas, stony shores, and windswept forests, as well as their variations, snow can usually be found above Y level 100.
You will know if you are in the right spot usually because if snowfall is possible in a location there will already be some snow on the ground.
Snowfall is the alternative to rain in these cold areas. Instead of rain you have Snow particles falling from the sky.
Unlike rain, snowfall has an effect on the landscape. It creates the snow carpet block which slowly accumulates. In Bedrock Edition snow will accumulate in different layers, while in Java it covers the ground in a single layer and freezes water.
How to Make it Snow
Snow can only be found in the Biomes I had listed above and this is something you will have to keep in mind when wanting to make it snow.
Unless you are farming snow and simply want to play around with snowfall, you will need to be in a snowy biome to succeed. Snowfall is a weather effect which replaces rain in these particular biomes.
To create snowfall you have to be in a cold biome and use the same command you usually would to make it rain.
/weather rain
If you are in the right area you will see snow particles slowly start to form and fall from the sky. If you aren’t these will be replaced by rain. Consider changing the biome if you are struggling to find a particular cold biome.
When you don’t want it to be snowing anymore you once again use the same command you would to make rain stop.
/weather clear
How to Use Snow in Minecraft
Unlike rain which doesn’t affect the terrain, snow can be harvested, used as a “weapon”, building block, and crafting component.
As a weapon it isn’t really effective. If you harvested snow in the form of a snowball you are able to throw it at Mobs and other players, similarly how you would an egg. However, a snowball can only deal damage to blazes.
To every other Mob it’ll cause a knockback effect, but it will not deal any damage.
But this is not the only use for a snowball as it can be used for crafting actual snow blocks if you aren’t able to harvest those directly from the terrain.
Crafting with Snow
You can use snowballs to craft snow blocks, which you cannot usually harvest directly from the terrain like you can dirt. Crafting snow without snowfall can become a bit tricky.
To craft a snow block you will need 4 snowballs arranged in a square, either in your Inventory or a Crafting Table.
Regular snow is the white carpet that can spawn on top of any other solid block during snowfall. These often cover paths, roofs, and other builds.
To craft this snowy blanket you will need 3 snow blocks.
When placing down any of these blocks remember that snow can melt. Snow will melt if it’s too close to a block which radiates heat or gives off more than 12 light levels.
We covered melting points and how to prevent melting when we spoke about how to make Ice in Minecraft, which behaves similarly to snow.
Additionally, if you’re playing on Bedrock Edition the snow will melt in all dry biomes regardless of light levels or if it’s close to heat or not.
Building a Snow Golem
Snow Golems are a special Mob very similar to Iron Giants which can be found in villages. They’re built in a similar manner and also serve a protective purpose for the player.
Unlike Iron Giants, Snow Golems can only be built. They do not spawn naturally anywhere.
To build a Snow Golem you will need a carved pumpkin and 2 snow blocks. Essentially what you’re building is a snowman with the pumpkin for a head.
Like Iron Giants the Snow Golem won’t be following the player around and its main goal will be to attack and kill hostile Mobs. It will do so from a distance by throwing snowballs at them.
Unfortunately Snow Golems cannot be built just about anywhere.
Because they are built from snow they can melt. If they fall into water, stand in rain, or are built in warm biomes they will begin to take fire damage until they die or are shielded from the elements.
This makes them most effective in cold biomes.
How to Harvest Snow
To harvest snow you will always need a shovel, regardless if you wish to just harvest the blocks or snowballs.
To harvest snowballs all you have to do is approach the snow carpet that has accumulated on top of a block and hit it with any shovel you have. Breaking the block directly underneath it or using TNT to blow up the area will also yield snowballs.
To harvest snow blocks you will specifically need a shovel with the Silk Touch Enchantment. No other tool with the enchantment will work. If you try using a different tool it will only destroy the snow and yield nothing.
Getting the Silk Touch Enchantment can be a little difficult at times because it is a very useful and very sought after Enchantment in the game.
It’s uncommon to find it and you have to rely either on trading with villagers or purely on enchanting tables and hoping you get it.
Additionally you can also use commands to give yourself the enchanted book.
