Snow in Cave Creek

[ElleTea]

Originally Posted by Finger Laker

If you enjoy the use of water your should want to see this every year

Last El Nino was a complete fizzle

Not frozen precipitation does the same thing

[Finger Laker]

No it doesn't - snow pack is much better when it comes to water

The snow had zero impact to those in Phoenix, except providing water ..... so it's kind of fantastic

[ElleTea]

Originally Posted by Finger Laker

No it doesn't - snow pack is much better when it comes to water

The snow had zero impact to those in Phoenix, except providing water ..... so it's kind of fantastic

You realize I was talking about the snow on the McDowell Mountains, right? Which was really a dusting. There's no "snow pack" there, and the precipitation they received would have been the same had the temp been a few degrees warmer in the form of rain.

[Finger Laker]

Why would it matter to you either way?

There was snow on the White Tanks and Estrella range .... Whatever

[ElleTea]

Originally Posted by Finger Laker

Why would it matter to you either way?

There was snow on the White Tanks and Estrella range .... Whatever

I moved to an area to get away from snow. It's a novelty but not something I'd like to see regularly. Why does it matter to you what I think?

[ScottsdaleMark]

Originally Posted by ElleTea

I moved to an area to get away from snow. It's a novelty but not something I'd like to see regularly. Why does it matter to you what I think?

I think your odds of not seeing snow regularly remain pretty strong.


Finger Laker is correct that from a water-management perspective, snowpack is MUCH better than rainfall. That's part of the issue California has had for a number of years, although this year their snowpack is finally above average thanks to this latest storm system.


The reason is that snowpack melts slowly whilst rainfall runs off all at once. With snowpack, you get a steady source for streams, rivers, lakes, reservoirs, over time. With rainfall, it happens in a matter of hours, days, weeks.


"Another huge challenge that warmer temperatures present is “snow drought,” where precipitation falls as rain instead of snow. When rain falls on mountain heights, water quickly fills reservoirs earlier that anticipated and can result in excess water that does not get stored. Since rain flows more quickly than snow melt, there can also be a significant loss of groundwater recharge, which can be a large contributor to mountain springs and streams."

[ElleTea]

Originally Posted by ScottsdaleMark

I think your odds of not seeing snow regularly remain pretty strong.


Finger Laker is correct that from a water-management perspective, snowpack is MUCH better than rainfall. That's part of the issue California has had for a number of years, although this year their snowpack is finally above average thanks to this latest storm system.


The reason is that snowpack melts slowly whilst rainfall runs off all at once. With snowpack, you get a steady source for streams, rivers, lakes, reservoirs, over time. With rainfall, it happens in a matter of hours, days, weeks.


"Another huge challenge that warmer temperatures present is “snow drought,” where precipitation falls as rain instead of snow. When rain falls on mountain heights, water quickly fills reservoirs earlier that anticipated and can result in excess water that does not get stored. Since rain flows more quickly than snow melt, there can also be a significant loss of groundwater recharge, which can be a large contributor to mountain springs and streams."

Yes. I moved from a place that gets lots of snow. I definitely understand how snow works.

When talking about a dusting of snow on mountains that very rarely get any, snow pack doesn't even come to mind.