Powder Snow

For other uses, see Snow (disambiguation).

Powder Snow

Renewable	Yes
Stackable	No
Tool
Blast resistance	0.25
Hardness	0.25
Luminous	No
Transparent	Yes
Flammable	No
Catches fire from lava	No
Map color	8 SNOW
Note block instrument	Default (Harp)

Powder snow is a non-solid block found in snowy slopes and groves, or collected from snowfall using cauldrons. It slows down and deals freezing damage to most entities within it. Wearing any leather armor prevents freezing, while wearing leather boots allow powder snow to be walked on and climbed through. It can only be obtained using a bucket and melts when placed inside water.

Obtaining

Powder snow does not have an item form in Java Edition.

The item form of it can be obtained only by inventory editing or with add-ons in Bedrock Edition.

Breaking

No tool can accelerate the process of breaking powder snow.^[1][2]

Block	Powder Snow
Hardness	0.25
Breaking time (secs)
Default	10.4 (JE) 0.4 (BE)
Options
Efficiency	000
Haste	001 1JEBE

Legend

• incorrect tool, drops nothing
• correct tool, drops nothing or something other than the block itself
• correct tool, drops the block itself
• italicized can be instant mined

Powder snow drops nothing upon being destroyed.

Powder snow is broken by water or lava, or when a burning entity touches it.

Natural generation

Powder snow naturally generates in groves and snowy slopes in strip formations. Powder snow cannot have a snow layer placed on it.

Powder snow also generates in the room chamber_2 in trial chambers.

Post-generation

A cauldron in a snowy biome under open sky fills with powder snow when it is snowing. Powder snow can then be picked up from this cauldron with an empty bucket.

Bucket

Using a powder snow bucket places powder snow; placed powder snow can be picked up again with an empty bucket. These actions can be automated using a dispenser. When picked up, breaking particles appear.‌^{[Java Edition only][3]}

Usage

All entities (except rabbits, endermites, silverfish, shulkers, vexes, frostbites and foxes) fall through powder snow and move much slower in it, similar to cobwebs. Powder snow does not cause suffocation damage.

Entities wearing leather boots (including players, mobs, and armor stands) do not fall through powder snow. Leather boots also allow players to use powder snow like scaffolding, descending by sneaking or crouching on the block and jumping while inside of the block. Leather boots do not speed up entities in snow.

All fall damage is negated when falling on top of powder snow, even for entities wearing leather boots. While moving through powder snow, snowflake particles appear.

Most walking mobs (except for goats) treat powder snow like normal solid blocks while pathfinding, similar to trapdoors, allowing them to voluntarily walk into it, and fall through it if possible.^[4] However, mobs do not attempt to jump up to powder snow, instead treating it as impassable if they cannot find a path to walk over it from neighboring blocks of equal or greater height.^[5] Goats avoid powder snow, although they are not immune to falling through it and taking freezing damage.

If an entity that is on fire touches powder snow, the powder snow is broken and the entity extinguished.

Carpets can also be placed on top of powder snow to prevent entities from falling through.

Being fully inside a block causes a thick fog effect around the point of view. Players in Spectator mode can see through powder snow without any fogging effect.

When powder snow is on top of grass blocks, mycelium or podzol, the blocks below change to a snowy texture, similar to when snow layers are on top;^[6] they revert to their default textures when the powder snow is removed. This change can be detected by observers.

Freezing

When an entity is inside a powder snow block, they begin to freeze, taking damage.

A player submerged in powder snow sees a frosty vignette slowly fade in at the sides of the screen. When the vignette is fully shown, the player begins shivering, the player's hearts change color, and the player begins taking damage. If the player leaves the powder snow block, the vignette slowly fades away. Frozen players move slower than normal.

Wearing leather armor stops the freezing effect and reverses the damage.

Preventing fall damage

Similar to water, powder snow resets the fall distance of players and mobs falling into it, and can be used to prevent fall damage. It is superior to water in that it can be used in the Nether. Damage is also negated when falling onto carpet placed over powder snow.

Piston interactivity

Despite not being a solid block, powder snow can be pushed and pulled by pistons like most solid blocks. This makes it the only block that can be placed and retrieved by dispensers, while also pushable by pistons.

Sounds

Generic

Java Edition:

powder_snow sound type
Sound	Closed captions	Source	Description	Identifier	Translation key	Volume	Pitch	Attenuation distance
	​Block broken	Blocks	Once the block has broken	block.powder_snow.break	subtitles.block.generic.break​	1.0	0.8	16
	​Block placed​[until: JE 26.4]	Blocks	When the block is placed	block.powder_snow.place	subtitles.block.generic.place​	1.0	0.8	16
	​Block breaking	Blocks	While the block is in the process of being broken	block.powder_snow.hit	subtitles.block.generic.hit​	0.2075	0.65	16
	​Something falls on a block	Entity-Dependent	Falling on the block with fall damage	block.powder_snow.fall	subtitles.block.generic.fall​	0.5	0.75	16
	​Footsteps	Entity-Dependent	Walking on the block	block.powder_snow.step	subtitles.block.generic.footsteps​	0.15	1.0	16

Bedrock Edition:

powder_snow sound type
Sound	Closed captions	Source	Description	Identifier	Translation key	Volume	Pitch
	​ ?	Blocks	Once the block has broken	dig.powder_snow	​ ?	1.0	0.8–1.0
	​ ?	Blocks	When the block is placed	dig.powder_snow	​ ?	1.0	0.8–1.0
	​ ?	Blocks	While the block is in the process of being broken	hit.powder_snow	​ ?	0.249	0.65
	​ ?	Players	Falling on the block with fall damage	fall.powder_snow	​ ?	0.4	1.0
	​ ?	Players	Walking on the block	step.powder_snow	​ ?	0.3	1.0
	​ ?	Players	Jumping from the block	step.powder_snow	​ ?	0.12	1.0
	​ ?	Players	Falling on the block without fall damage	step.powder_snow	​ ?	0.22	1.0

Unique

Java Edition

Bedrock Edition:

Data values

ID

Java Edition:

Name	Identifier	Form	Block tags	Translation key
Powder Snow	powder_snow	Block	inside_step_sound_blocks snow	block.minecraft.powder_snow

Bedrock Edition:

Name	Identifier	Numeric ID	Form	Item ID[i 1]	Translation key
Powder Snow	powder_snow	561	Block & Ungiveable Item[i 2]	Identical[i 3]	tile.powder_snow.name

Advancements

Icon	Advancement	In-game description	Actual requirements (if different)
	Light as a Rabbit	Walk on Powder Snow... without sinking in it	Walk on powder snow while wearing leather boots.

History

Announcement and mention

Java Edition

Java Edition
1.17			20w46a				Added powder snow.
			20w48a				Wearing any piece of leather armor now stops the freezing effect.
							Added the freezeDamage gamerule, which stops entities from taking freezing damage if it is set to false.
							The snow_step_sound_blocks block tag was renamed to inside_step_sound_block.
			21w05a				Skeletons now turn into strays when they are in powder snow after 45 seconds (900 game ticks).
							Foxes no longer fall through powder snow.
							Powder snow now extinguishes any flaming arrows shot into it.
			21w10a				Freezing in powder snow while using the "Fast" graphics setting gradually turns the player's view to black, and the vignette also appears as black in third-person view.
			21w11a				Frozen hearts now have a different texture in Hardcore mode.
							Players in Spectator mode can now see through when inside powder snow.[7]
			21w13a				Slightly increased hardness and blast resistance.
							Increased vertical movement speed in powder snow.
							Entities on fire now melt powder snow on colliding.
							Skeletons now convert into strays after 7 seconds (140 game ticks).
							Blazes, magma cubes and striders now take extra damage from freezing.
							Strays, polar bears and snow golems are now immune to freezing.
							Leather horse armor now grants horses immunity to freezing.
							Mobs now shake when they are fully frozen.
							Freeze time decreased to 7 seconds (140 game ticks) and hurt frequency to 2 seconds (40 game ticks).
							The model of powder snow has been tweaked so that the inner side textures are mirrored.
			21w17a				Withers are now immune to freezing.
1.17.1			pre1				Powder snow cauldrons are now filled twice as fast as before.
1.18			Experimental Snapshot 1				Powder snow now generates naturally in the new mountain biomes.
1.20.3 Experiment Update 1.21			23w45a				Powder snow now generates naturally in the new trial chambers.
1.21.5			25w05a				Landing on powder snow with leather boots equipped after falling further than 2.5 blocks now make entities fall through the snow.
							Jumping or falling less than 2.5 blocks allows the entity to land on top of the snow like before.
26.2			snap1				Added sulfur cubes, which are immune to freezing only if they absorbed a block.
Upcoming Java Edition
26.4			snap3				Zombies now convert into frostbites when standing in powder snow.
							Husks now convert into zombies when standing in powder snow.

Bedrock Edition

Bedrock Edition
1.16.200 Experiment Caves and Cliffs			beta 1.16.200.52				Added powder snow under the "Caves and Cliffs" experimental toggle.
1.16.210 Experiment Caves and Cliffs			beta 1.16.210.51				Powder snow now shows the block breaking animation when being mined.
							Powder snow is no longer transparent when looked at through clouds.
			beta 1.16.210.53				Entities in powder snow now begin freezing and eventually die.
							Powder snow can now be picked up and placed with a bucket.
							Powder snow no longer appears in the Creative inventory.
							Added new sound effects for powder snow.
							Powder snow now emits particles when an entity is landing or moving inside it.
							Endermites, rabbits and silverfish no longer fall through powder snow.
			beta 1.16.210.57				Powder snow block was readded to the Creative inventory.
1.16.220 Experiment Caves and Cliffs			beta 1.16.220.50				Powder snow now naturally generates in the new mountain biomes.
			beta 1.16.220.51				Powder snow block is once again unavailable through the Creative inventory.
1.17.0 Experiment Caves and Cliffs			beta 1.16.230.54				Slightly increased hardness and durability.
							Increased vertical movement speed in powder snow.
							Entities on fire now melt powder snow on colliding.
							Blazes, magma cubes and striders now take extra damage from freezing.
							Strays, polar bears and snow golems are now immune to freezing.
							Leather horse armor now grants horses immunity to freezing.
							Mobs now shake when they are fully frozen.
							Freeze time decreased to 7 seconds (140 game ticks) and hurt frequency to 2 seconds (40 game ticks).
							A fog effect is now applied while standing very close outside a powder snow block.
1.17.0			beta 1.17.0.50				Powder snow is now available without enabling experimental gameplay.
							Powder snow now makes a different noise when players get hurt by it.
							Foxes no longer fall through powder snow.
							Powder snow blocks are now removed by flowing water and lava.
			beta 1.17.0.52				Cauldrons now fill with powder snow when it snows, making it renewable.
			beta 1.17.0.54				Powder snow's hardness has been changed to 0.25 to match Java Edition.
							Skeletons now convert into strays when they are inside of powder snow.
			beta 1.17.0.56				Withers are now immune to freezing.
1.18.0			beta 1.18.0.20				Powder snow now generates naturally in the new mountain biomes.
26.20 Experiment Drop 2 of 2026			Preview 26.20.23				Added sulfur cubes, which are immune to freezing only if they absorbed a block.
Upcoming Bedrock Edition
26.60 Experiment Drop 4 of 2026			Preview 26.60.29				Zombies and husks now convert into frostbites when standing in powder snow.

Powder snow "items"

Issues

Issues relating to "Powder Snow" are maintained on the bug tracker. Issues should be reported and viewed there.

Gallery

Screenshots

• 
  A patch of powder snow in a snowy slopes biome, barely standing out from regular snow surrounding it
• 
  Annotated version of the previous screenshot. Thick blue line separates regular and powder snow; dashed line denotes the level of blocks the player has been standing on.
• 
  A pit full of powder snow, labeled "the pit of despair", with a sheared snow golem in it
• 
  Ditto, but without the snow golem
• 
  Powder snow fog
• 
  Powder snow fog with Vibrant Visuals

In other media

• 
  Artwork of a goat on powder snow
• 
  Render of powder snow used in Block of the Week
• 
  Sunny falling into powder snow

References

External links

• "Block of the Week: Powder Snow" by Duncan Geere – Minecraft.net, October 21, 2021.