The snow is different this time

[torqueofthedevil]

Has any
One else noticed? It is around yorkshire anyway. The stuff we got a few weeks back, despite sticking seemed much wetter and easy for tyres to cur into. This stuff is the light fluffy stuff that u can't make snowballs with.

My BMW has been parked up for the last month and have been using a corsa. It was brilliant in the last snow but now is completely useless!

This seems mire like the snow we had in feb.

This is why Eskimos have some many words for snow - to describe the different types

[mike50001]

wring type of snow? do you work on the railways?

[PaulG40]

I know what you mean. Was clearing it off the cars last night, its akin to what I can only describe as little polystyrene balls.

[GuinnessMK]

I think it's about air temp when it snows.

If it's above freezing, you get wet snow. If it's below freezing, you get powder.

We've got a dusting of snow up here this morning.

[PaulG40]

ah right, did not know that. Sunday morning PH learnings!

[redstu]

We have had almost no snow in Newcastle thus weekend.
However 2 weeks ago I took my daughter into the garden to make a snowman , no way just was not going to happen. Must try adding water next time!

[GadgeS3C]

Bloody complicated topic. If you ski a fair bit you soon start to recognise how variable types of snow can be. Down to both how it falls and what happens to it after.

Check this out - http://www.its.caltech.edu/~atomic/snowcrystals/cl...

Gary

[GKP]

Another wet layer on top and we're into a classic avalanche situation.

[havoc]

GKP said:

Another wet layer on top and we're into a classic avalanche situation.

I do hope not - we're at the bottom of a shallow hill* and I fear if there was an avalanche it'd probably cover the house! Maybe we should evacuate the bottom of our street???



* Massive thing - at least 8-10ft elevation gain!

[WeirdNeville]

havoc said:

GKP said:

Another wet layer on top and we're into a classic avalanche situation.

I do hope not - we're at the bottom of a shallow hill* and I fear if there was an avalanche it'd probably cover the house! Maybe we should evacuate the bottom of our street???

* Massive thing - at least 8-10ft elevation gain!

Sandbags! Sandbags Man! I hope you have a preparedness strategy!
(Mine involves a bottle of Whiskey and living on top of a large hill).

[XitUp]

PaulG40 said:

I know what you mean. Was clearing it off the cars last night, its akin to what I can only describe as little polystyrene balls.

That's graupel, that is.

wiki said:

Graupel (also called small hail, soft hail, or snow pellets; METAR code: GS) refers to precipitation that forms when supercooled droplets of water condense on a snowflake, forming a 2–5 mm ball of rime; the snowflake acts as a nucleus of condensation in this process. Graupel is the German word for this meteorological phenomenon.

[NHK244V]

that's cos it's colder (try google for a propper BMW driver explanation)

[Great Pretender]

NHK244V said:

that's cos it's colder (try google for a propper BMW driver explanation)

[sawman]

Yep, temp is the issue. My kids were mightily hacked off when we lived in canada as the snow in -20 doesnt clump - makes it very difficult to make snowballs and snowmen. We had to fill bin bags with snow, when it would then set to make snowmen. If you have enough powder snow try tossing it up into a pile with a spade. if you let it set for 30 mins or so you can then scoop out the inside of the snowplile to make a shelter, the outside crust gets quite strong.

[Doniger]

torqueofthedevil said:

Has any
One else noticed? It is around yorkshire anyway. The stuff we got a few weeks back, despite sticking seemed much wetter and easy for tyres to cur into. This stuff is the light fluffy stuff that u can't make snowballs with.

This seems mire like the snow we had in feb.

Is it anything to do with where it's come from? A few weeks ago we had a blast of Siberian air and snow from the east, but this current lot (as well as last February) is from the Arctic.

[cptsideways]

Air temps & cloud density have a huge impact on the snow type, this year its definately powder snow, lovely stuff for off piste skiing if only there was enough it

[Bebee]

PaulG40 said:

I know what you mean. Was clearing it off the cars last night, its akin to what I can only describe as little polystyrene balls.

No, that was polystyrene balls.

[eldar]

Bebee said:

PaulG40 said:

I know what you mean. Was clearing it off the cars last night, its akin to what I can only describe as little polystyrene balls.

No, that was polystyrene balls.

The eskimos have a name for that.
Polystyrene balls.

[king arthur]

They've changed the snow? Dammit why can't they leave things alone, the old snow was perfectly acceptable as it was.

[XB70]

That is interesting. We went over to the park with out toddler to build a snowman and the snow was incredibly dry and would not stick together. It was like trying to build something out of DAZ laundry powder