How do they Measure Snow?

They insert a ruler into the ground and measure the amount of inches.

They use a graduated stick and read the number where the top line of snow is. BTW - depending on the amount of water in the snow (whether it's wetter or drier), snow accumulation is between 10 and 12 times the amount of rainfall. So, if it rains an inch and snows that same amount a little higher up, you're looking at 10 to 12 inches of snow.

Winter is really piling on the snow this week in Minnesota. The meteorologists on TV often tell us the "official" snowfall amounts, but how do the experts measure the snow?

"I have no clue," said one woman in Minneapolis.

At the National Weather Service office in Chanhassen, Minn. they have all sorts of high-tech weather equipment. However, when it comes to measuring snow, it's a pretty basic operation.

"We have the very high-tech ruler," joked Todd Krause, who forecasts weather and measures snowfall. "It's stainless steel no less, though."

Outside their offices is the official snow measuring spot.

"We call it the snow board," said Krause.

That's because it is simply a small, plywood square that sits in an open area. Every six hours someone comes out with an everyday ruler and takes a measurement.

"So we are at 0.7 inches," said Krause while the snow was falling Tuesday.

They then scrape the plywood board clean. A reading is taken every six hours because that allows the snow to settle. They also collect snow in a rain gauge and melt it to record its water content.

"This is really the tried and true method," said Krause. "It's not rocket science."

There are four official measurement spots in the state: Duluth, St. Cloud, Chanhassen and the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. On windy days they put the snow board near a building so the reading is not messed up by blowing and drifting snow.

(Copied and pasted from: http://wcco.com/local/good.question.snow.2.602643.... )

who cares? haha. but brb im going to look it up on googlle..........................

Okay, the result is "Prior to an anticipated snowfall, place a simple wooden board on the ground.…New snowfall accumulates on the board, and at observation time a ruler is used to measure the snow depth to the board. Record the snowfall…and sweep the snowboard clean so that it is ready to receive new snowfall. Repeat this process throughout the snow event, and then compare your total snowfall with that reported by the local television or broadcast meteorologist. Note that snowfall is notoriously variable from one place to another with considerable differences within the District and across northern Virginia and adjacent Maryland." hope i have helped you... :)<3 -you have NOOOO idea....how hard it is ;(

A snow measure. I would think a ruler would work, but hey, im not a weather guy.

They go out into the country in fields where there is no foot trafic and stick a ruler in the snow.

Dr. Mel explained it on TV.

http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Idiots-Guide-Weathe...

SI measurements

a ruler http://blog.mlive.com/saginawnews/2008/02/Snow43.j... <<click

well they would measure it like if it was on top of a car,

I use a ruler. Hope this helps