Snow measurement, then vs. now

[El]

At some point, we started using snow boards (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowboard_%28meteorology%29) to measure snow, and that inflated snow totals.  I have been unsuccessful in getting an estimate of when this change took place, but it's apparently been somewhat recent.  Anyone know/able to find when that change took place?

[Yuri Bezmenov]

What is this "snow" substance that people keep talking about??     

[Icequeen]

What is this "snow" substance that people keep talking about??     

You need to head north and find out...it's an amazing experience.

*throws snowball*

[Jack]

At some point, we started using snow boards (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowboard_%28meteorology%29) to measure snow, and that inflated snow totals.  I have been unsuccessful in getting an estimate of when this change took place, but it's apparently been somewhat recent.  Anyone know/able to find when that change took place?

The linked article states the snow boards don't inflate snow totals.

Measuring snow in grass the grass blades will produce inflated snow totals, whereas with a snowboard this effect is absent.

[Jack]

Anyone know/able to find when that change took place?

This is the oldest mention cold find, with 1989 as the oldest date of referenced publication.
http://climate.umn.edu/snowrules/SnoMeas.htm

Snow Measurements
 Based on ‘Snow Measurement Guidelines (10-23-96)’, U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Weather Service (NWS), Office of Meteorology and ‘National Weather Service, Observing Handbook No. 2, Cooperative Station Observations’, Observing Systems Branch, Office of Systems Operations, Silver Spring, Md, July 1989 and ‘The Snow Booklet’ by Nolan J. Doesken and Arthur Judson, CSU, 1996.

[Gopher Gary]

cold find

 

[El]

At some point, we started using snow boards (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowboard_%28meteorology%29) to measure snow, and that inflated snow totals.  I have been unsuccessful in getting an estimate of when this change took place, but it's apparently been somewhat recent.  Anyone know/able to find when that change took place?

The linked article states the snow boards don't inflate snow totals.

Measuring snow in grass the grass blades will produce inflated snow totals, whereas with a snowboard this effect is absent.

Inflated as opposed to old methods of measuring snow.  Information from here:  http://www.boston.com/news/weather/weather_wisdom/2015/02/when_will_we_see_bare_ground_a.html

How We Measure
If this winter had occurred 40 years ago, the amount of snow measured in each storm would have been less and therefore Boston would not have had 100 inches of snow right now. You might think this is ridiculous, isn’t a foot of snow in 1965 the same as foot of snow in 2015? The answer is no.

Decades ago snow was measured differently. Today, we have snow boards. According the National Weather Service, “A snowboard should be any lightly colored board that is about 2 feet by 2 feet. A piece of plywood painted white works very well. Ideally, it should be painted white to minimize heating by sunlight.” These boards are used to measure the snow that falls. They are measured and cleared every 6 hours or 4 times each day. The measurements are then added up and that’s the total amount of snow for a storm. Here’s the problem. This eliminates a percentage of compaction that occurs during snowstorms. This creates inflated snow amounts as compared to older records. It’s not that our snow amounts today are wrong; it’s just that they can’t be compared to earlier storms or years.

[Icequeen]

Remembering the dam my dad worked at, they had a weather station there, and the snow was measured on a white platform by the white box they had with all the other stuff.

So I guess that was a snowboard...early 70's, was probably in place at least a good 5-10 years prior to that. Can't seem to find when it all started.

[Jack]

At some point, we started using snow boards (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowboard_%28meteorology%29) to measure snow, and that inflated snow totals.  I have been unsuccessful in getting an estimate of when this change took place, but it's apparently been somewhat recent.  Anyone know/able to find when that change took place?

The linked article states the snow boards don't inflate snow totals.

Measuring snow in grass the grass blades will produce inflated snow totals, whereas with a snowboard this effect is absent.

Inflated as opposed to old methods of measuring snow.  Information from here:  http://www.boston.com/news/weather/weather_wisdom/2015/02/when_will_we_see_bare_ground_a.html

How We Measure
If this winter had occurred 40 years ago, the amount of snow measured in each storm would have been less and therefore Boston would not have had 100 inches of snow right now. You might think this is ridiculous, isn’t a foot of snow in 1965 the same as foot of snow in 2015? The answer is no.

Decades ago snow was measured differently. Today, we have snow boards. According the National Weather Service, “A snowboard should be any lightly colored board that is about 2 feet by 2 feet. A piece of plywood painted white works very well. Ideally, it should be painted white to minimize heating by sunlight.” These boards are used to measure the snow that falls. They are measured and cleared every 6 hours or 4 times each day. The measurements are then added up and that’s the total amount of snow for a storm. Here’s the problem. This eliminates a percentage of compaction that occurs during snowstorms. This creates inflated snow amounts as compared to older records. It’s not that our snow amounts today are wrong; it’s just that they can’t be compared to earlier storms or years.

That makes sense.

[skyblue1]

New England residents certainly don't want more of it, but those in warmer climates might.

That was the thought of Manchester-By-the-Sea resident Kyle Waring when he decided to start selling a small portion of Boston's plentiful snow cross-country, Boston.com reports.

Waring calls his novel business "Ship Snow, Yo." It all started when he joked to his wife about sending the white stuff to friends and family while they were shoveling their yard.

The joke became reality when Waring began shipping out water bottles of snow from winter storm Neptune for $19 a pop.

"This is your chance to not only own a piece of history, but also help save Boston from #Snowmageddon2015! Every order counts!," Waring declares on his website.

"Who doesn't want snow? ... EVERYONE IN BOSTON. Our nightmare is your dream," Waring tweeted yesterday.

Shockingly -- or at least to the poor souls of the Northeast -- Waring is selling out of his newest products: 6 pounds of snow for $89 and a 10-pound package for $119. The prices include shipping.

The snow is placed in a plastic bag, then tinfoil, then into an insulated container that's shipped overnight.

Waring, who has a full-time job at the GSN Games in Boston, admits the snow melts a bit before reaching its shipping location. But luckily for recipients, it "can still make 10-15 solid snowballs."

http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2015/02/massachusetts_entrepreneur_sel.html

["couldbecousin"]

  Once, as a child, I placed my foot against a snowy section of the yard, heel at the base and toes at the top,
   and was very impressed to see that there was a whole FOOT of snow in the yard!  Yes, rly. 

[El]

New England residents certainly don't want more of it, but those in warmer climates might.

That was the thought of Manchester-By-the-Sea resident Kyle Waring when he decided to start selling a small portion of Boston's plentiful snow cross-country, Boston.com reports.

Waring calls his novel business "Ship Snow, Yo." It all started when he joked to his wife about sending the white stuff to friends and family while they were shoveling their yard.

The joke became reality when Waring began shipping out water bottles of snow from winter storm Neptune for $19 a pop.

"This is your chance to not only own a piece of history, but also help save Boston from #Snowmageddon2015! Every order counts!," Waring declares on his website.

"Who doesn't want snow? ... EVERYONE IN BOSTON. Our nightmare is your dream," Waring tweeted yesterday.

Shockingly -- or at least to the poor souls of the Northeast -- Waring is selling out of his newest products: 6 pounds of snow for $89 and a 10-pound package for $119. The prices include shipping.

The snow is placed in a plastic bag, then tinfoil, then into an insulated container that's shipped overnight.

Waring, who has a full-time job at the GSN Games in Boston, admits the snow melts a bit before reaching its shipping location. But luckily for recipients, it "can still make 10-15 solid snowballs."

http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2015/02/massachusetts_entrepreneur_sel.html

Heard about this guy.  I think he's brilliant.

['andersom']

Our snow is being measured in watery form. So, ten cm of snow would get registered as 1 cm of precipitation. Of course there would be tales about how many cm of snow, but what counts is the precipitation.

[Jack]

Our snow is being measured in watery form. So, ten cm of snow would get registered as 1 cm of precipitation. Of course there would be tales about how many cm of snow, but what counts is the precipitation.

That's smart.

[El]

Our snow is being measured in watery form. So, ten cm of snow would get registered as 1 cm of precipitation. Of course there would be tales about how many cm of snow, but what counts is the precipitation.

Depends on why you're measuring it.  Even if it's fluffed up, sheer cm/inches matter in terms of visibility (which is still a MAJOR problem here at intersections).