Snow Gauge

/ Bluebird Gardens/
My garden rain gauge full of snow. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

My garden rain gauge full of snow. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Snow Gauge

Of all of the things I use daily in my garden, my large numbered rain gauge is in the top 10 list. Easy to see from my living room window, it helps me to gauge how well my garden is hydrated. Soil is 25% water so its helpful to tract that my mid-Missouri soil is getting at least one inch of rain a week.

When I spotted my “rain” gauge after our last snowfall, I realized it had now turned into a snow gauge. But how does that measure of snow translate to garden rain?

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, “on average, thirteen inches of snow equals one inch of rain in the US, although this ratio can vary from two inches for sleet to nearly fifty inches for very dry, powdery snow under certain conditions.”

And then there is the impact of temperature.

To calculate rain to snow for temperatures between 20 and 27 degrees Fahrenheit, multiply rainfall by 15 instead of 10.

For temperatures between 15 and 19 degrees Fahrenheit, multiply rainfall by 20.

Between 10 and 14, multiply by 30; between 0 and 9, multiply by 40; between -20 and -1, multiply by 50, and between -40 and -21, multiply by 100.

For example, to calculate the snowfall equivalent of 3 inches of rain at 5 degrees Fahrenheit, multiply 3 by 40 to obtain 120 inches of snow. Therefore, if 3 inches of rain are expected but the temperature drops suddenly to 5 degrees Fahrenheit, 120 inches of snow will fall.

My rain gauge with actual rain. To think this could have been several inches of snow! (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

My rain gauge with actual rain. To think this could have been several inches of snow! (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

In Missouri, on the average more snow falls in the northern part of the state compared to the rest of the state. An average of 18-24 inches falls in northern Missouri a year compared to 8-12 inches in the southernmost part of the state.

This last snow had large snowflakes, without ice or sleet. I don’t remember the temperature but I think it was above 27F. So not much moisture added to the soil but pretty nevertheless.

Charlotte