Weight Of Snow

Snow on a rooftop, fence, and street sign

Who doesn’t like to see a beautiful snowfall on the trees and housetops?
Perhaps not, if you’ve got to go out and shovel it off the drive and sidewalks!

Snow can be quite heavy, if it’s a wet snow.

How Much Does A Cubic Foot Of Snow Weigh?

Snow is less dense than water. A cubic foot of snow can weigh anywhere between 1 to 20 pounds per cubic foot, depending on moisture content.

The actual water content of snow generally ranges from 5% to 32%.

When the snow becomes glacier ice, it weighs 51.82 to 57.25 pounds per cubic foot.

For some people, when it snows it’s a happy time. You get a chance to play outside and have a lot of fun.

Dog playing in the snow

But, for other people, snow is an issue and often leads to dangerous driving conditions and travel problems.

The fact that snow is white means visibility can be reduced. Snow is white in color because every snowflake is made up of ice crystals and has numerous pockets of air inside them.

When these crystals and air pockets are exposed to light, snow does not absorb this light. Instead, snow reflects the light out again and all the colors that make up white light equally, resulting in what appears to be white snow.

Snow on the ground

~ Fun Fact ~
When snow storms and blizzards strike, they cover everything with huge amounts of snow. The most snowfall recorded in a single season occurred in Mount Baker. Between the 1st of July, 1998 and June 30th, 1999, approximately 95 feet of snow fell in this area!

The most snow in a single month is 32.5 feet. It took place in Tamarack, California in 1911.

The most snow to fall in a single day happened in the Colorado Rockies, where 6 feet 3 inches of snow landed on the ground!

Resources:
http://www.monroect.org/filestorage/467/469/698/750/SNOW_WEIGH_PER_CUBIC.PDF
https://www.icedamremovalguys.com/how-much-does-roof-snow-weigh/

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