Getting several questions about how much actual liquid did western Kansas get after 20+" of snow? It was some of the heaviest accumulation experienced in a long time for places, but in the end, it doesn't wipe away the drought. However, it could be the difference between a failing wheat crop and one that turns out to be okay.
When figuring out how much actual water comes from the melting snow, it's important to know what the temperatures were like during the event. Tuesday, when the snow was falling, most areas were showing temperatures in the low to mid 20°s. Look at the chart below:
Closer to freezing (32), we would expect 10 inches of snow would give us 1 inch of actual moisture. That would be considered and "average" snow to liquid ratio. It IS possible that if temperatures are in the mid 30s, one could expect a 7:1 ratio (7 inches of snow = 1" of rain).
As it gets colder, the moisture content drops, and we move toward a powdery snow. As was the case Tuesday, I think we were closer to the 15":1 ratio (15" for 1" of actual moisture). Goodland is now showing .80" for the month of January, which is a little bit above normal for actual liquid moisture. Dodge City had 8.3" of snow, and it melted down to .32" - a little drier snowfall than Goodland had.
Temperatures down in the middle teens would be closer to a 25:1 ratio. That's a very dry snow and usually blows around easily. Normally when it gets that cold, the beneficial moisture from snow isn't as good, but it can still serve as an insulator to crops and vegetation.
Winter snow update:
Now that we've had a decent winter event, we are getting back to near normal on snow for Goodland and Dodge City. Far southwest Kansas is still hurting because they were missed almost entirely by Tuesday's storm.
And it continues to be a snowless winter thus far in many areas of central/south central Kansas too. Safe to say most locations around Salina, Great Bend, Hutch, and Wichita are a good 5-8 inches below average.
Next winter storm:
This system has potential to be a widespread, higher impact system. Since we are still days away, the specifics aren't clear. We know it will be a stronger system and likely slow to move, but track and overall setup will have to be resolved by new models in the coming days. If the track performs like what we are seeing now, rain, ice, and snow will all be a possibility. There's plenty to watch for as it ejects from the southwest.
As we've mentioned before here on the blog, storm tracks that come in from the southwest tend to have a higher supply of moisture. This means the areas that have had almost no moisture all winter may finally get something more than just flurries.
One model gives some widespread half inch total precipitation (liquid). How much of this is rain, ice, and snow - stay tuned. It's just one model and we are several days away yet.
Have a terrific day.
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