Water to snow

Meteorologists are particularly challenged to accurately predict snow amounts well before the first flakes have fluttered down. Many factors are considered when assessing the environment for forecasting accumulating snow. Take the dynamic and synoptic meteorology classses in college and you'll find it is not as easy as it looks. But you can still try it at home.

One of the things we try to determine is the temperature in the snow growth area, between five thousand and ten thousand feet. Studies have shown that an ideal temperature in this region, for high quality snowflakes, is about five degrees.

We also try and determine the snow to water ratio that will be measured on the ground. A standard ratio is thrteen to one in our region. Last night's snowfall was about twenty to one. If we had received a quarter inch of moisture in the Twin Cities, it would have translated to about five inches of fresh snow.

Follow the snowfall observations throughout the day at the Chanhassen NOAA web site.

Snowfall reports...click on previous version for more reports

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