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Hi there! I was just checking the weather for my points of interest (various cities) and saw that one city expects P.M. Snow and then, rain the next day.
What happens to the snow when it rains on top of it?
(Lived in FL and central TX... WISH OH WISH I lived in the snow!)
That occurred in the area of Boston, I used to live, just about everytime it snowed. Was called being on the snow-rain line. Was rare to get just a powder type snow. It would snow, turn to sleet, then turn to rain, then freeze. All one right after the other in the same storm.
First it snows. Can be Ok, light and fluffy. Better get out there and shovel it quick. If it starts to sleet / rain on it, the snow absorbs the water and becomes heavy like lead. You think you are shoveling lead. You had to get it quick and depend on the rain melting what was left over. Helped to have lots of salt and sand available. Sidewalks could be sheets of thin ice, even if you got them clean in time. Wait too long and a snowblower won't work, they just plug up.
The lower layers become like a mix of ice, water and slush. If the temperatures are dropping and it gets below freezing you have real problems. Initially it ain't snow, it ain't ice but a mess of packed stuff that is impossible. About like glue, gumbo or tar that ain't warm. Can't walk on it, can't drive on it. If you get a couple snowfalls over the same area that are not cleaned off, you have a total "No-Go" zone. Even a dog won't do it.
Depending on the thickness, salt is very ineffective, takes a huge amount.
The killer is all the snow piles, get rained on. They absorb the water. When it freezes you have the huge blobs of psuedo ice with all the dirt and grit buried in them. Hit one with a car and it is about like hitting a stone wall. In Boston they stayed around forever and ever. Gave real meaning to that expression, "Grime and Crime". Had plenty of both. A nasty grey looking mess.
Takes a lot of warm rain to melt a decent snowfall. I say, Boston and all of New England never again.
No, you do not wish to live in a snow belt. Just read about it or watch it on TV. If you get tired of it, turn it off. Believe me it is easy to get tired of quick. Especially if you are in a snow / sleet / rain zone.
I love snow, miss it but I tell ya that rain snow combo is a killer!!!! thats all it ever did in oregon snow a little, then rain then freeze the slush.
Wowee... Hmmm... I really appreciate all that information. Really gives someone pause for thought... But Gosh,golly, gee. wiz... I really want to live in the snow. What about somewhere like southwest VA? (As opposed to say, Wisconsin...) Is that not in the snow belt? I know I sound pathetic... What exactly is the snow belt? Thanks again, everyone.
Dont let it scare you, I love snow and someday will go back to it, right in the thick of it, Virginia, they dont handle snow well, if you are going to do it, make sure you live in a place that can handle it. Me I love Colorado!!!!
If you really want snow, go to somewhere that they just get a powder type snow. Just like you see in all the fancy pictures. You need extremely clean air to boot. Nothing to make it dirty once on the ground. No Yahoos to mess it up, just a clean white pristine blanket. Nice snow then the sun comes out. Like in the Alps. On farms, out in the country.
Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, ski country, some parts of upstate NY, VT.
Forget any urban area and snow. Snow is not pretty or nice as soon as you put tracks in it. Snow with air pollution equals grey cold nasty wet stuff.
Just schedule your vacations in the winter. Go to the ski resorts. That is what my nephew in Florida does. Gets his snow fix and calls it square.
A snow belt is somewhere they get snow as a regular part of the weather. Like Buffalo or Boston. It doesn't mean it is a good thing.
Snow belt is not a clearly defined term, but it pretty much excludes all of the southern U.S. In the east, pretty much anywhere in the "Rust Belt" is also in the "Snow Belt." Also In the east, the climate needed for snow to be common is monthly daytime averages below 40 F. (I have no idea what it takes in a dry climate) but I think the coldest time of year in southwest VA is at lowest in the mid 40's F. I suppose another way to put it is, pick the coldest month and count how many times you get precipitation. Now count how many times of that was rain and how much was snow. Any places rain is even slightly more common than snow in mid winter is not in the Snow Belt. New York City would be a good example of this.
In southern Ontario, most of the time the snow stays as snow. However when it's shovelled or plowed, which leaves snowbanks the snow compresses and this compression causes ice. So driving over snow compresses it and creates ice. We have tons of salt dumped on our roads so it's generally not a problem for driving, but your car looks like a gross glazed donut and it's all but impossible not to bring a salty mess indoors that's stuck to your shoes or boots.
Anywhere from 1 in 2, to 1 in 4 snowfalls we'll get what we call "packing snow."
Packing snow has a very similar consistancy to wet sand that's easy to make sand castles with. That forms when it's anywhere from 25-32 F. It's a heavier, wetter snow. Most of the time when it's snows it's too cold to make snowmen, snowballs etc. because it's powdery. (like dry sand) It is possible to take the colder powder and make snowmen, but it takes a lot more effort and compressive forces to make it stick.
If it snows when it's near 0 F, the snow will be so "dry" it will squeak when you walk on it.
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