Young Writers Society

I was just reading this article:
http://www.recorder.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=936914

And saw a picture of a huge mound of snow. I know there are areas that get dozens of feet of snow in winter, but that amount seems mythical to me.

So my question is, how long does it take for all that to melt!? It can take a week of fifty degree (F) temperatures for three inches of snow to melt in DC, so how long does it take for a dozen feet of snow???

O_O

Homygod.

How do you people survive in that stuff????

*snuggles desert*

-:pirate3:

Well we get a lot of snow in northern Wisconsin, so it's not that unusual to get a couple of feet during a bad snowstorm. That picture looks facetious, though. The snow looks plowed into a pile (which is where most kids would play on a mound that big). Just look at the snow on the roof: it's not that much, so I don't think they're snowed in their houses or anything like that.

Um, well spring usually brings about lots of wet ground as all the snow is melting. Later, there will be just piles where the snow was plowed into mounds, and those can last even into May if the weather is cool enough. I'm sure Canada is even worse, though.

We don't usually get a lot of snow where I am but lately we have been. Well, if you think 6" or more is a lot. We got around 8" or 10" this past storm, which did take a while to melt, but even when we got 6" it took maybe three days. Missouri has really weird whether, so it might be 20 one day and snow, and then 39 the next and all of it will melt quickly.

The worst storm we had was an ice storm last December. (Lost of people got hit with it actually.) The power was out in some places for a week or more, and the ice/snow was around for a week-ish. Again, though, Missouri's temperature changes so much, that it depends more on the forecast than how much snow fell.

I live in NH and get a TON. It all melts pretty quickly; it was warm out the last two days, and the snow shrunk and pushed farther away from the roads. Then it snowed again today.

When they say dozens of feet, they're typically talking about what has fallen over the course of the winter so far. I know in the UP (upper peninsula) of Michigan, their record is something like 72 feet of snow back in 1968 or so.

But as far as actually having a dozen feet of snowfall on the ground at once... not likely unless it's drifting or plowed into a pile such as it is around many parking lots. I live on a dead end, and so there's a HUGE mound of snow that's easily 12 feet high at the end of our road left from the plows. Great for sledding! But all the rest of the snow on the ground (about 2 feet) has since melted, so you'd be going down pavement and grass once you get off the snow mound. XD I'll see if I can get a picture posted!

~Yoyo

Yeah, big mounds are usually the result of plowing.

Here we get loads and loads of snow. This winter has actually been decent. I don't know the statistics, but it's been warmer than other years. Here we're right by Lake Ontario, so that's where the huge amounts of precipitation come from.

As to how long it takes to melt...that really depends on the temperature, the duration of time that temperature is sustained, how cold it is overnight, how packed the snow is, and how the sun is hitting today. Today got fairly warm--up to forty Fahrenheit--and it was really sunny, but most of the lawns are still covered and the streets are so-so. Obviously most of the streets get plowed...but yeah, the lawns and stuff still have a covering. It'd probably take a few days of constant warm temps (and by warm I mean 40-50) with some direct sunlight to get everything off.

LIke everyone is saying, piles that high are a result of plowing. But most of the snow is gone pretty quickly. But mounds like that are usually still around until the end of April, unless we keep getting snow in April. It doesn't happen a lot, but snowy Aprils do happen.

Where I live it either melts until spring or more snow comes

YAY! finally above freezing temps! Snow is melting! Soon I won't have to climb to get to the bus stop.

I live in Florida, but I've seen snow like that before, and I don't think it's really that mythical...

Some people wait for a warm day, then shovel the snow unto the road so it melts faster. Otherwise, it depends on the wether. Rain & heat get rid of the stuff, but it can take a long time, since it's rarely warm for multiple days in a row. =_=

And, if you're unlucky, your house might end up splitting in half due to the weight of snow built up on your roof. In the middle of the night, of course, so you're not quite prepared.

What's scary, is that these roof cave in's are happening in QUEBEC, where the houses are extra fortified against snow due to the fact they get so much.

So my question is, how long does it take for all that to melt!? It can take a week of fifty degree (F) temperatures for three inches of snow to melt in DC, so how long does it take for a dozen feet of snow???

Well, just the stuff on the ground won't take too too much time to melt in warmer temperatures, especially if there's rain while it's warmer. But the piles of frozen snow like in the picture can sit in the middle of a perfectly green lawn for a month or so before they finally disappear. XD

We had a tremendous snow year. Well, not even "had;" it's snowing like a mother as I type this.

It's kind of funny. I usually walk to school, and I have to cross a somewhat busy street to get there. You know those buttons you have to push to activate the little electronic sings that tell you when to cross the intersection? For the majority of the year, I've had to bend over quite far to press them--that is, when they aren't completely covered with snow.

Seriously. They rest at about ankle level.

yeah, the snow in that picture is definitely plowed.

that being said, we've been in the 40's and 50's most of this week, and we still have dirty piles of snow on the boulevards that were plowed about 4.5-5 feet high. in another week, they'll just be piles of dirt and gunk