WHAT IF: All the rain we have had was snow?

1" of rain equals approximately 10" of snow

The weather has been very active since our record snow in December, but it has also been warm. As a result, of course, the precipitation around these parts lately has been in the form of rain.

So, what if it would have been could enough for all of those rounds of rain to have fallen as snow?

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First, there are two types of snow; wet and dry. The dry, fluffy stuff is good for skiing and sledding. The wet is great for making snow balls and snowmen.

On average, 1" of liquid rain equals 10" of snow. When the air is drier and colder however, this ratio would be bigger. In the northern states, the air is typically drier, so snow ratios would be higher, more like for every inch of liquid rain you would get closer to 15-20" of snow. The opposite is true for when the air is warmer and wet, likely closer to every inch of liquid rain you could squeeze 8" of snow.

We'll use the average of 10 to 1 liquid to snow ratio for our example.

IF the 5.2" of rain that fell from the middle of December through the first week of January came in the form of snow, we would have shoveled roughly 50" of the white stuff. Just some food for thought.

 


About the Author:

Jonathan Kegges joined the News 6 team in June 2019 and now covers weather on TV and all digital platforms.