Also, hydrologists’ models to predict water levels critically depend upon good initial data collection (though improved satellite data has helped reduce their reliance on any individual measurement). As hard as it is to believe at times, the snow will eventually melt, and rapid melting could cause problems with flooding. I like 10 because it makes the math easy.Ĭareful measurement is vital so we can make reasonable estimates for the amount of liquid contained in the snowpack. To get a representative number, you need a site with minimal drifting (not always easy to find) and several measurements should be averaged to get a final number. It’s usually rounded to the nearest whole number. Snow depth should be a measure of the average depth in a given location and its immediate surroundings. Marisa Ferger, CC BY-NC-ND How deep is your snow Note the instrument shelters in the background. The author measuring the paltry three inches at his observation location in Pennsylvania. There are over 8,700 cooperative observers across the country who send in their weather data to the NWS daily, some who have done it for over 75 years! Since 1890, the National Weather Service has relied on a network of volunteer observers, all strictly adhering to the NWS guidelines, to come up with snow measurement numbers over a region. It’s a little more complicated than you might think to get those oh-so-important snow totals for winter storms. Impressive numbers for sure, but assuming you have a measuring stick long enough to reach the ground beneath all the white, really, how hard can it be to measure? You stick a ruler or yardstick into the snow and get a number, right? Well, not so fast. Mountainous locations will sometimes see triple-digit snow depths. In February 2015, Bangor, Maine tied its record for deepest snow at 53 inches.
The Blue Hill Observatory, a few miles south of Boston, recorded the deepest snow cover in its 130-year history a couple of years ago, an incredible 46 inches. Temperatures usually average 5-10 degrees cooler in Garrett County than in the rest of Maryland throughout the year.An updated version of this article was published on Jan. By contrast, Allegany County, just to the east, averages 32- 36 inches of precipitation and less than 40 inches of snow per season. This “Lake Effect” snow can result in 10-12 inches of snow while areas downslope to the east receive little or no snow. Unlike the remainder of Maryland, Garrett County receives much of its snowfall from air masses generated over the Great Lakes that rise and cool as they cross the Allegheny Plateau. Some communities at higher elevations, like Bittinger, at an elevation of 2700 feet, receive more than 100 inches of snow per season. Most communities in Garrett County record between 60 and 80 inches of snow per season. Precipitation averages between 40 and 48 inches annually, of which a significant portion falls as snow or ice between the months of November and March. “Because of its mountainous terrain and relatively high elevation (3360 ft on Backbone Mountain), Garrett County is susceptible to heavy rains and winds during summer thunderstorms and heavy snowfall and blizzard conditions during the late fall and winter months.
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