What is the conversion for every inch of rain to snow? Pete, Rochester
What you are referring to is called the liquid equivalent for snowfall. But there is no single answer to this question, because the amount of snowfall is highly dependent on the temperature. A basic principle of meteorology is that at any given time the atmosphere’s ability to hold moisture is directly related to the air temperature. A warm atmosphere can hold tremendous amounts of water vapor while a cold atmosphere has a limited capacity to hold moisture. For example, if the air temperature is 30 degrees and we receive the equivalent of one inch of liquid precipitation, this would equate to 10 inches of snow. That same amount of liquid at 15 degrees would produce 20 inches. This explains why lake effect snow can sometimes be so dry and fluffy.
