The Ten Inches of Snow Hiding in a Raindrop

Snow is mostly air, which is why a massive blizzard might only leave behind a tiny puddle once it melts. For a standard winter storm, the ratio is 10:1, meaning you would need to melt a ten-inch snowdrift just to fill an inch-deep cake pan with water.

This ratio isn't a rule; it’s a sliding scale. If the air is exceptionally cold and dry, the snow becomes fluffy and "wild," sometimes reaching a ratio of 30:1. In these conditions, thirty inches of snow would melt down into the same amount of water as a single short afternoon rain shower.

Conversely, "heavy" snow—the kind that is perfect for snowballs—happens when the temperature is closer to freezing. This snow is wet and dense, often pushing the ratio down to 5:1. This is why five inches of wet snow can collapse a roof while twenty inches of dry powder barely puts any stress on the shingles.

This air-to-ice trap is what makes snow an incredible insulator. Because the flakes are so good at capturing air pockets, a thick layer of snow can actually keep the ground underneath from freezing, protecting plants and hibernating animals from the sub-zero temperatures above.

Oddly, the loudest part of a snowstorm is the silence. The same jagged shape that makes snowflakes take up so much space also allows them to trap sound waves, acting like natural acoustic foam for the entire world.