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Converting the amount of melted snow to inches


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First you need to find out what the temp was when the precip fell. Then you can use

http://www.erh.noaa....-mel****er.html

(that word in there should be "melt water")

Don't use that table. You can't do that kind of conversion... snowfall-to-liquid ratios are based on dynamics and temps above the surface, not on temperature at the surface (unless that temperature at the surface is above freezing).

You need to go buy a manual rain gauge to get the real snow water equivalent, like a CoCoRaHS gauge.

http://www.weatheryourway.com/cocorahs/store.html

Automated gauges don't do very well in snow, heated or not. A manual measurement made by melting the snow is always the best way to figure out the water content.

As far as measuring the snow, follow the instructions here:

FYI, 0.03" of liquid would translate to anywhere between 0.3 and 0.6 inches of snow, generally speaking.

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Don't use that table. You can't do that kind of conversion... snowfall-to-liquid ratios are based on dynamics and temps above the surface, not on temperature at the surface (unless that temperature at the surface is above freezing).

You need to go buy a manual rain gauge to get the real snow water equivalent, like a CoCoRaHS gauge.

http://www.weatheryo...rahs/store.html

Automated gauges don't do very well in snow, heated or not. A manual measurement made by melting the snow is always the best way to figure out the water content.

As far as measuring the snow, follow the instructions here:

http://www.americanw...measuring-tips/

FYI, 0.03" of liquid would translate to anywhere between 0.3 and 0.6 inches of snow, generally speaking.

Thanks much! Yeah, I definitely do not have 0.3-0.6 on the ground right now! I have more like 4 inches!:lol: So, I guess my Davis VP2 rain gauge is inaccurate with snowfall! Manual measurement is the way to go right?

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