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Meteorology              Charles A. Giannetta
                         Meteorologist - Professor 
 
"S N O W"

1.  Snow at Christmas: Usually not any for the
    Lehigh Valley, Pa. area
2.  Snow Board. For measuring new fallen snow. Away
    from buildings and trees.
3.  Snowburst: Extreme lake effect snow blocking roads.
4.  Lake effect snow for Weathern New York. ART/BUF/ROC/
    SYR/BGM.
5.  Lake Effect snow storms.
6.  Lake Effect storms over the Great Lakes.
7.  Snow fence. Used to deflect snow.
8.  Snow: Fetch. To pick up moisture.
9.  Snow Grains: Very small, white, opaque grains 
    of ice much like drizzle but are frozen. Diameter  
    less than 1 mm.
10. Snow: Measuring. Location. Ruler. Measuring Stick.
11. Snow Pellets: Soft conicial or sperical white 
    particles of ice with diameters of 1 to 5 mm.
12. Snow Squalls:
13. Snow Symbols:
14. Snow: Trace. Less than a 1/2 inch. (.5") of snow.
15. Snow: Water equivilant. Usually 10 inches of snow
    to 1 inch of rain. Can be as low as 7 inches to
    as high as 30 inches of snow.
16. Snow: Contains ice crystals that are usually
    six sided.
17. Snow Board: A borad for measuring snowfall.
18. Snow Core Sample: A core sanple of the snow cover
    to measure how much liquid precipitation is within
    the core.
19. Snow: Ice crystals which have six sides. 

1.  Snow: Light......Visibility greater than 1/2 mile.
2.  Snow: Moderate...Visibility greater than 1/4 mile 
                     but 1/2 mile or less.
3.  Snow: Heavy......Visibility 1/4 miles or less.



Meteorology              Charles A. Giannetta
                         Meteorologist - Professor 
 
"How To Measure Snowfall"


   Measuring snow fall sometimes is very easy, other times it could be quite
difficult.

   If the snow is falling straight down with no wind it is easy to get an
accurate measurement. If the snow is falling with high winds and drifing or
blowing snow is occuring it is very difficult to get an accurate measurement.
This is where the experience of the observer comes into play.

          "Snow Falling Staright Down"

   Tools needed would be a yard stick. To take a snowfall measurement, get the 
yard stick push it down in the snow to get a reading on the yard stick. Walk
around and take about 5 readings in 5 different locations. After you have taken
these 5 readings, add them up and divide by 5 to get the average. This would be
the snowfall for that reading.


   Example:
            Reading No. 1.      5.3  Inches.
            Reading No. 2.      5.7  Inches
            Reading No. 3.      6.1  Inches
            Reading No. 4.      5.5  Inches
            Reading No. 5.      5.9  Inches
                                -----------
                        Total = 28.5. Divide this number by 5.
                        This would give an average of 5.7 inches. This would be
                        the total snow that fell for this reading.
 
  "Snow Falling High Winds -- Blowing & Drifting"


   To measure snowfall when the winds are high causing the snow to fall side ways
with blowing and drifting snow can be quite difficult.

   First it is difficult to walk in this type of weather condition without the
snow beating against your face and eyes. If there are large drifts it could be
hard to climb over these drifts without being stuck in the deeper snow.

   Again, try to get as many readings as possible in these conditions. Again,
average them up and divide by the mumbers of readings taken. This again would be
the snowfall measurement.

   If you are not able to get accurate measurements, it is ok to estimate the
amount of snowfall.



Meteorology              Charles A. Giannetta
                         Meteorologist - Professor 

"Estimating Snowfall"



   Estimating snowfall druing severe weather is ok. This is done by what type
of snow is falling whether it is wet or dry.

   The average snowfall ratio to liquid is 10 to 1.  That is 10 inches of
snowfall is equal to 1 inch of liquid precipitation. If the snow is wet the ratio
can be lower, 7 or 8 to 1.  If the snow is dry the ratio can be higher, 15 to 1.
That is 15 inches of snow to 1 inch of liquid. When the snow is very dry the ratio
can be as high as 30 to 1. That is 30 inches of snow to 1 inch of liquid 
precipitation.

   To obtain the amount of liquid precipitation in any snowfall is quite easy.
One must have a raingauge. Push the raingauge down into the snow and get a sample
of that depth. Take the raingauge into a warm location and wait for the snow to
melt, then by reading the depth of the water that has melted would give the amount
of liquid precipitation. If you do not want to wait for the snow to melt, you can
add a measurable amount of water to the gauge and let it melt the snow. Then take
a reading of the raingauge. When you obtain this number, subtract the water that
you added to the gauge. This would give you the amount of liquid in the snow.

   The "Snowboard" in the picture above is 15" X 15" square with a ruler attached 
to measure the snow fall. Place the "Snowboard" in an open area to help measure
the snow as it falls. Record the time the snow begins to fall and then in about
1 hour take a reading from the "Snowboard". After taking the reading wipe off the
snow from the "Snowboard" this will give you a new reading when you look at the
board once again. If you take 5 readings in the past 5 hours, add them together
and you will have the total amount of snow that fell in that time period.

  Example:  1st. Hr.      1.3  Inches
            2nd. Hr..     0.7  Inches    Add them to get the total snowfall
            3rd. Hr.      1.1  Inches    in the past 5 hours.
            4th. Hr.      0.9  Inches
            5th. Hr.      2.1  Inches
          ----------------------------
       Total Snowfall     6.1  Inches

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