The Scent of Snow

As I stepped outside for the first time that morning, I smelled it; the scent that refreshes my senses and leaves me feeling refreshed. It is a scent that you can only smell at certain times of the year. It is the scent of snow. Laughing, I turned to a friend who had stepped out with me. When I asked if they smelled it they responded that snow did not have a scent, all they smelled was rain and pollution. This sparked a discussion that lasted several days and involved many of the people on campus. The scent of snow, or the lack thereof was widely discussed at lunch tables and over homework.

What does snow smell like you ask? Some people say that is a crisp, fresh scent. Others claim that snow has a slightly metallic scent, like blood. A few people said that snow smelled like water or rain. Included in the list of adjectives were things like: dirt, refrigerated water, cold, musty, wet, and others. The most commonly used adjective was crisp and clean.

Just fewer than half the people surveyed claimed that snow had no scent at all. Some said that the atmosphere was what had the scent. Others claimed that snow neither had a scent, nor caused a scent. Still others simply laughed and said that the whole topic was crazy.
So I ask you, when you step outside the morning after the first real snow fall, what do you smell? Does snow appeal to all the senses, or simply to the eyes? Does snow have a scent? What does snow smell like to you?