Weather

Rain To Snow Ratio: How many inches?

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ratio snow to rain inches
By
Mike Moss

What is the ratio of snow to rain in inches?

Mike Moss: The ratio of snow to water can vary a great deal depending on vertical profiles of temperature and moisture, and how they change during a storm. A typical ratio for our area is 10 inches of snow per inch of water, but when the snow is wet, or mixes with freezing rain or sleet at times, the ratio may be much lower, around 3-5 inches for an inch of water. Conversely, on very rare occasions we get snow with a very cold atmospheric column, and in those cases there can be as much as 15-20 inches of snow per inch of liquid water.

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