‘Gilmore Girls’: Could Lorelai Really Smell Snow?
Lorelai Gilmore of Gilmore Girls has several aspects that make her so charming. One of those things is her ability to sense when it’s about to snow. Her giddy excitement when she senses the chilly air is infectious and is sure to put anyone in the best mood. But could Lorelai really smell the snow?
Rory thought Lorelai was the only person who could smell snow
Gilmore Girls highlighted the best (and sometimes the worst) parts of Lorelai and her daughter Rory. Lorelai had Rory at a young age and tried her best to provide for her daughter and create a best friend type of bond with her, unlike Lorelai’s relationship with her mother.
While fans loved how effortless Lorelai made motherhood seem, she had several quirks that endeared her to fans. One of her charming traits included her ability to smell when it was about to snow. While not every season showcased Lorelai’s unique talent, some episodes helped highlight this incredible superpower, if you will.
Lorelai first sensed a coming snowfall in the show’s first season’s eighth episode. She tells Rory, “Wait, close your eyes and breathe. I smell snow.” When Rory is dismissive, Lorelai asks her, “Can’t you smell it?” to which Rory equates the ability, or lack of it, to dogs and their ability to hear high-pitched noises.
This episode is the first time fans get a feel of Lorelai’s unique ability. She tells her daughter that her love for snow stems from her belief that all the best things in her life happened during winter, including Rory’s birth, which allegedly happened in a snowstorm. Lorelai also uttered the famous statement in the Netflix revival A Year in The Life even though there was already snow on the ground.
Is it possible to smell snow?
Have you ever stepped outside on a cold winter day, and a familiar smell filled your nose? You know it’s about to snow, but you don’t know how you know that. Well, as it turns out, Lorelai Gilmore wasn’t the only one who could smell snow.
According to Pamela Dalton, an olfactory scientist (per Mental Floss), the air smells different just before snow falls. Dalton said the snow smell boils down to three things, the cold weather, a stimulated nerve in your brain, and humidity.
According to Dalton, the air molecules slow down when the temperatures drop, and some smells become less pungent. As a snowfall becomes imminent, humidity rises, and while it causes it to snow, it boosts your olfactory system making your nose warm and moist.
Finally, the trigeminal nerve, which usually interprets sensations like spices, gets turned on whenever you breathe in cold air. Through this nerve, your brain is able to link snow with a distinctive scent as it does with tingly hot peppers or a mint candy bar.
What does snow smell like?
Now that we know it’s possible to smell snow, you might wonder what you’re actually smelling before it snows or when it’s snowing. Your first thought would be to say it smells like the cold. Whenever it’s about to rain, you can smell the grass or ground, so what does snow smell like?
Some Redditors gave their opinions on what snow smells like to them. One said, “To me, it smells kinda burnt, cold, and crisp.” Another user said, “It has its own kind of petrichor if it’s really falling, but you definitely can’t smell it right as its starting the way GG (Gilmore Girls) implies.”
Many Redditors said they could smell it but couldn’t explain what it smelled like. According to New England, the chemical compounds in snow are responsible for its smell, so for most people, snow smells like any cold day.
