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The Conversation
The Conversation
Science
Bill Syrett, Associate Teaching Professor of Meteorology and Atmospheric Science and Manager of the Joel N. Myers Weather Center, Penn State

How is snowfall measured? A meteorologist explains how volunteers tally up winter storms

Strict rules guide the official count for how much solid precipitation fell. Photos by Vesuviante/Moment via Getty Images

The Blue Hill Observatory, a few miles south of Boston, recorded the deepest snow cover in its 130-year history, an incredible 46 inches, in February 2015. The same month, Bangor, Maine, tied its record for deepest snow at 53 inches. Mountainous locations will sometimes see triple-digit snow depths.

Impressive numbers, for sure, but assuming you have a measuring stick long enough to reach the ground beneath all the white, how hard can it be to measure? You stick a ruler or yardstick into the snow and get a number, right? Well, not so fast. It’s a little more complicated than you might think to get those oh-so-important snow totals for winter storms.

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