Сверху падали снежинки, и мне стало спокойно.

and

Breakdown of Сверху падали снежинки, и мне стало спокойно.

• мне: me
• стать: to become
• падать: to fall

Questions & Answers about Сверху падали снежинки, и мне стало спокойно.

Why does the sentence begin with сверху? What exactly does it mean here?

Сверху means from above, from the top, or sometimes simply down from overhead.

In this sentence, it tells you where the snowflakes were falling from:

• Сверху падали снежинки = Snowflakes were falling from above

It is an adverb, so there is no preposition before it here.

A learner might compare:

• сверху = from above / from the top
• вверху = above / up above

So here сверху emphasizes the source/direction of the falling.

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Why is падали plural?

Because the subject is снежинки, which is plural.

• снежинка = snowflake
• снежинки = snowflakes

Russian past-tense verbs agree with the subject in gender/number:

• падал = he/it (masculine) was falling
• падала = she/it (feminine) was falling
• падало = it (neuter) was falling
• падали = they were falling

Since snowflakes are plural, the verb must be падали.

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What case is снежинки in?