Snow Liquid Ratio determines ‘fluffy vs. wet snow’

QUAD CITIES, Iowa/Ill. (KWQC) - We’re officially now in the winter months so now it’s time to start talking a little bit more about snow, and essentially the types of snow that we have: fluffy or wet. It all has to do with the snow liquid ratio.

In the summer it’s really, really easy to measure rainfall. You just get your rain gauge out, you get an inch of rainfall that’s what is expected.

In the winter months, temperatures are going to play a bigger role on what type of snow and how much snow we can get. So we will just use the same one inch of rainfall with 34° as your temperature.

This is likely going to measure somewhere around five inches, meaning you’re above freezing but this will be a real wet and heavy snow. This is the one we typically call “heart attack snow.”

As you are getting out there and shoveling out, it takes a lot of effort to move it and it’s extremely heavy as well, as you would expect.

When a temperature is 30°, which is more typical because you’re below freezing.

In fact, this is the most normal snow you have because it’s really good and easy to pack as well. One inch of rain would equal ten inches of snow.

What happens when you get even colder? We’re talking teens for the temperature. This is going to give us that nearly 20 inches of snow out of one inch of rainfall.

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