If This Upcoming Crazy Weather was Snow, How Much Would Maine Get?
I feel like we've had enough rain this year.
When all is said and done, there will be spots in Maine that receive a couple to a few inches of rain. In a day and a half, that's absolutely insane. Although, it seems par for the course this year. Aside form the forthcoming high winds, I feel like we've already had a couple storms that brought that much rain.
This all got me wondering, since this storm is a true summer Nor'Easter, how much snow would we get if this were January instead of September? The answer can be frightening. If huge snow amounts are a trigger for you, I suggest you move on to happier subjects, like Christmas presents, haha.
The ratio varies a bit when calculating the math.
Turns out, no matter how you slice it, we'd be 100%, absolutely buried under snow. From what I was reading on NOAA's website, the average ratio is 13 inches of snow for every inch of rain. But, that number could go higher or lower, depending on weather conditions.
For instance, if it were dry powdery snow, you could gain up to 50 inches (yes, 5-0!) of snow to equal an inch of rain. Or, 2 inches of sleet for every inch of rain. Either way, rain is ok, because who wants tons of dry snow, or half a ton of sleet? There isn't really a winning answer to that question.
So, just how much would it be?
If you get 2 inches of rain, that would basically amount to just over 50-60 inches of snow. Basically, 4-5 feet of snow! Or 4 inches of sleet. Worse, if it was absolute bedlam and we got the dry powdery equivalent, we'd have gotten over 15 feet of snow... In one 24 hour storm! That would translate to about 7.5 inches an hour. Like, what?!
No matter how you slice it, if this was a winter storm of any kind, it would lead to catastrophic circumstances for us Mainers. I'm not sure what happens in nature that generally seems to prevent this, but I ain't gonna argue. I'm just gonna count my blessings that it's just another rainy day.
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