Science Smarts: When snow melts down, how much precipitation are we left with?

By Patty Rooks on November 30, 2024.

Well, my wish last week came true – it snowed! I could not believe my eyes when I woke up, everything was covered in a beautiful blanket of fresh white snow this past week. I have been cleaning my deck off by scooping up bowls of snow, allowing it to melt and using this water on my houseplants. Something I am noticing though is that, sadly, there is not much water once all this fluffy snow melts. With that I decided I had better come up with a method to check out the amount of snowfall we received, so I know just how much precipitation there is. Let’s get started!

*Remember to ask an adult before doing this experiment.

Materials

– Snowy day

– A large empty tin can

– 2 rulers

– Masking tape

– Duct tape

– Set of measuring cups

Procedure

1. Using the masking tape, cover the sharp edges of the empty tin can. I do not want you to get cut.

2. Place one ruler on the inside edge of the tin pointing straight up can and secure it well using duct tape. Make sure it is taped well as we do not want it to fall over.

3. Wait for it to snow.

4. Once it begins to snow, place your “snow gauge” outside in your backyard. Make sure it is in a clear spot away from any obstructions such as trees, decks, or buildings.

5. Once it has quit snowing, bring your snow gauge inside.

6. Using the second ruler, carefully level off the top of the gauge so it is completely flat on the top.

7. Look at the ruler in the gauge and record how much snow you collected.

8. Place the snow gauge on the counter and allow the snow to melt.

9. Carefully pour the melted now into a measuring cup.

10. Record your results.

What is going on?

Your snow gauge collected all of the snow that fell out of the sky. I am sure it was interesting to see that once the snow melted it actually produced very little liquid (or water). Snow is so fluffy, it often looks like a great deal, but once it melts, and there really is very little liquid that can be absorbed into the soil. My sources tell me that it takes about 25 centimetres of fluffy wet snow to make the equivalent of 2.5 centimetres of rain. WOW! What a difference.

Just a reminder do not forget about booking your hands on learning kits, or your Science Experience 101 support for Science Fair with Praxis as soon as possible. We look forward to helping you out with all of your science needs this school year!

Patty Rooks, senior scientific consultant PRAXIS, “Connecting Science To The Community.” Contact Praxis at praxis@praxismh.ca, http://www.praxismh.ca, Tweet or follow us @PraxisMedHat, or friend us on Facebook. Address: 12 826 11th Street SE, Medicine Hat, AB, T1A 1T7 Phone: 403-527-5365, email: praxis@praxismh.ca.

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