Topic: December 5th Clipper

[Jim's Wx Sta]

Our first measurable snow of the season today as a result of Alberta Clipper.  Located just south of Winchester Va (about 50 mi. west of DC), as of 7:00 pm we had 2.4". 

Jim

[Mark / Ohio]

We picked up about 4" here from it.  It was also our first measurable snowfall for the season.   

[Anthony]

I picked up 3" here. At one point I got 1" in about an hour. Just think if it would have stalled?

[jwyman]

I am 50 miles SE of Washington DC and I think we had about an inch but rauin took some of it away. Need to get an offical mesuremant from Pax River NAS to confirm....



Jim

[Bruiser]

Yep...It was a nice little snow.  We received about 4 1/4 inches of fluff at my house....

The three daughters played in i for a while

[kray1000]

Our first measurable snow of the season today as a result of Alberta Clipper.  Located just south of Winchester Va (about 50 mi. west of DC), as of 7:00 pm we had 2.4". 

Got about 4/10 of an inch here.  Was gone a couple of hours later.

[ocala]

4/10 of an inch. How was that measured?

[kray1000]

On my deck furniture.

[Anthony]

Mine was measured on our front steps using a 12" ruler. May not have been the most acurate way to do it. According to NOAA radio yesterday, beckley recieved 1.5" And probably half of it is still here. Getting so freezing rain this morning.

[ocala]

Not to get off topic here but does any one have a heater for their rain gauge to calculate snow? Just curious if it measures in tenths.

[racenet]

Not to get off topic here but does any one have a heater for their rain gauge to calculate snow? Just curious if it measures in tenths.

Yes, I have a heater.

I do not use it to calculate snow fall amounts. I only use it to measure water content of the snow fall. Snow fall is measured with an old fashioned ruler.


Bob

[Mark / Ohio]

We picked up another 2" or so today followed by some freezing drizzle.  I'm just eyeballing the amount that I shovel off the drive and walks.  Really the way the moisture content of the snow changes with the temps and also depending whether the storm came in from the N.W. or S.W. here it would be really hard to calculate with any accuracy by the moisture in the gauge.  I've had my heater running all along.  Moisture content today was about half what we received from the last storm.

[ocala]

I guess my question is, how does the NWS officially measure snow fall? I guess a ruler could be used in most cases but what about snowfall in blizzard conditions where part of the ground is bare while 20ft away there is a 5ft drift.

[racenet]

I guess my question is, how does the NWS officially measure snow fall? I guess a ruler could be used in most cases but what about snowfall in blizzard conditions where part of the ground is bare while 20ft away there is a 5ft drift.

You answered your own question....with a ruler. 

As for blizzards and/or drifting, you take several measurements, in the most undisturbed areas and do an average.


Bob

[Jim's Wx Sta]

For snow measuring I use a 24"x24" piece of plywood painted white, on the ground in a fairly open area.  And a ruler marked in tenths using a sharpie to highlight the markings.  Here's a detailed description from NOAA's Skywarn page:
http://www.erh.noaa.gov/er/lwx/skywarn/snowfall.html
For deeper snow measuring, I found this device handy:
http://www.forestry-suppliers.com/product_pages/View_Catalog_Page.asp?mi=3391
Jim