Snow Eater

[campgottagopee]

I've been told by an old time groomer/snow maker that fog is the biggest "snow eater" we have. I was surprised thinking it would be combo of rain-wind but he was adimit that it was fog. I have no idea if he's right, but does anyone agree?????

Not that this is a great topic, but it does happen each year and I guess I'm curious.

 

[snoseek]

I'm far from an expert on this but I think fog is just a result of really mild moist air and snow. So yeah when it's foggy the snow is going fast. Maybe someone else has the real answer.

 

[o3jeff]

I heard that too years ago from a friend that worked at the local hill, thought it was unusual but never really looked into it.

 

[severine]

Yes, fog is terrible for snow. Brian explained it once to me but I can't remember the logistics of it... All I know is, the ski areas definitely do not like it.

 

[BeanoNYC]

Interesting facts: FOG: A FAST WAY TO MELT SNOW: In the spring, snowcover can melt rapidly if a warm, humid air mass overrides the snow and the snow then lowers the temperature of this humid air to the point that fog forms. The fog droplets forming at the snow surface release the latent heat of condensation, which helps to melt the snow.

http://www.weatherquestions.com/What_causes_fog.htm

 

[Geoff]

Humid air is a much better thermal conductor than dry air.

 

[twinplanx]

Could the fog actually be the snow evaporating off the hill? That (I could see) would be the end of it no more frost/freeze cycle, and worse than wind that may simply blow snow in to the woods. Just up up and away...

 

[Hawkshot99]

Rain is not good for snow, but is not nearly as bad as fog. Also rain is much nicer to man made snow, than it is to natural. The man made snow is lots of little crystals. The rain can run through the crystals to the bottom and run down the ground.

Don't know why but fog does really hurt the snow.

This all came from a groomer at Jiminey.

 

[ctenidae]

Cue Marc.

I'd say everyone here has bits of the answer. Fog forms when warmer humid air meets colder ground/water. Warm air, obviously, is bad for snow, and humid air is a better heat conductor than dry. Plus, condensation has a heat-absorbing compnent.

Considering fog would only have an effect on the top layer of snow, I wonder if it's more responsible for crusting and/or sheet ice as well.

 

[campgottagopee]

Cue Marc.

I'd say everyone here has bits of the answer. Fog forms when warmer humid air meets colder ground/water. Warm air, obviously, is bad for snow, and humid air is a better heat conductor than dry. Plus, condensation has a heat-absorbing compnent.

Considering fog would only have an effect on the top layer of snow, I wonder if it's more responsible for crusting and/or sheet ice as well.

Why am I starting to regret asking the question. I'll go get my dictionary and be right back

 

[Highway Star]

Also rain is much nicer to man made snow, than it is to natural. The man made snow is lots of little crystals. The rain can run through the crystals to the bottom and run down the ground.

Close but not quite. Man made is basicly a bunch of tiny ice chunks unless it is of extremely high quality (almost unheard of). Thus, manmade snowpack is basicly ice with tiny pockets of air. When it warms up and re-freezes, the chunks stick together, and form hardpack.

Natural snow is crystals (snowflakes). When it warms up, they degrade but not completely, creating manky snow, but there is still much more air trapped in the snow. If it rains, the crystals degrade massively as the water runs through them.

 

[tcharron]

I've been told by an old time groomer/snow maker that fog is the biggest "snow eater" we have. I was surprised thinking it would be combo of rain-wind but he was adimit that it was fog. I have no idea if he's right, but does anyone agree?????

Not that this is a great topic, but it does happen each year and I guess I'm curious.

Fog is also a side effect of snow sublimating directly into the air sometimes as well. Perhaps a better way to say it is, 'Fog is a tell tale sign that something really bad might be happening'. :-D