First Actual Snow Report
1/14/2007

Status: Closed
Surface conditions: Two piles of manmade, Grass
Features: 12' Box (closed), 8' Flat Rail (closed)
Past 24hr snowmaking: No
Past 24hr natural snow: No
Comments: Two piles of snow remain from what was made Wednesday night. Weather looks better beginning Monday.


Forecast:

This Afternoon: Partly cloudy, with a high near 62. West wind around 10 mph.

Tonight: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 49. West wind between 8 and 15 mph.

M.L.King Day: Rain likely, mainly after 1pm. Cloudy, with a high near 56. West wind between 14 and 17 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.

Monday Night: Showers likely, mainly before 1am. Cloudy, with a low around 34. West wind between 13 and 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.

Tuesday: A chance of rain and snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 35. Northwest wind between 16 and 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%.

Tuesday Night: A slight chance of snow showers before 1am. Partly cloudy, with a low around 15. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Wednesday: Partly cloudy, with a high near 28.

Wednesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 17.

Thursday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 35.

Thursday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 24.

Friday: Partly cloudy, with a high near 33.

Friday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 24.

Saturday: Partly cloudy, with a high near 34.

You didn't miss a thing

Nothing to post about. besides the word 'warm' in every sentence. But thats about to change. For quite a while.


In the meantime, I was able to get some snow down. Which is uh, melting at the moment, with a temp of 58F currently. Have been building a new box over the past few weeks of warmth. 16" wide, and 12' long. Currently waiting on the plastic topsheet, and it has yet to be fully painted. This coming week, the setup should be sweet. Hopefully getting up to 3 features open quickly. But as for the next week, Myself and a few friends (Both of which help maintain the park occasionally) are headed up to Vermont for a week of powder. Weather looks to be insane, with highs around 15, snow squalls, and nighttime lows around -10F each day. Snow should be alot better than it has so far this season, as the Greens are forecasted to pick up 10-15" of snow now through Tuesday. In the meantime while we are gone, local resorts, including the backyard par should hold up well. Highs in the mid thirties should keep the snow that gets laid down this week while we are away. Hopefully when we return, we will be able to continue getting the park in peak condition. Hopefully.

Well Then.


Well its warm. Heres some physics on what all contributes to snow melt. Just because.

There are many factors that affect snowmelt rate.


The angle of the Sun to the surface is a good example.
Notice the amount of snow on the sloped sides of an
east-west interstate highway. The south side will
have more snow left because it does not receive as
much sunshine and receives it at a lower Sun angle
than the north side. The greater the angle of the
Sun to the surface, the less energy it receives from
the Sun.


The type of snow also has an affect. If the snow is
light and fluffy ("dry snow") it may not melt as fast
as heavy, "wet" snow that has more liquid water in it.
A light, fluffy snow also allows more light to filter
through it, thereby distributing the energy through
a greater depth of snow, whereas wet snow absorbs
much of the Sun's energy near the top of the snow and
therefore it melts at the top; the melted snow drips
through the snowpack, making it "wetter" and icy if
temperatures drop well below freezing.


The dirtiness of the snow makes a big difference. A
new snow reflects more light than an old dirty snow;
the old snow will absorb more of the Sun's energy
and therefore melt faster.

David R. Cook

Atmospheric Research Section
Environmental Research Division
Argonne National Laboratory

The melting of snow is a very complex process. Some (but not all of the
factors, for sure) are: flow pattern(s) of the water from melted snow which
tend to be random and chaotic, wind that can push snow and / or water in a
preferred direction, the topography of underlying terrain that can make the
apparent snow depth different than the topography of the snow itself, the
deposition of water soluble solutes that can change the melting point of the
ice from one spot to another, differences in the packing density that result
from wind and / or rate of deposition of the snow, and so on.... and on.

The short answer is the process is pretty complex.

Vince Calder

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