just wondering why the snow isn't accumulating even though it's below freezing outside?

Question

i live in michigan. it's snowing like crazy right now and it's 20 degrees F right now. why doesn't the snow accumulate??

Answer 1

Several possible reasons...

Flakes of light or powdery snow don't bond together very well and this type of snow is easily blown away.

The larger 'classic' snowflake contains much more air than water and when it lands it compresses under it's own weight. What might start off as 6 inches of snow soon becomes just an inch or two even though it's not melted.

If the temperatures have recently been above freezing and / or there's been bright sun then the ground could be warm enough to melt the snow on contact - more true of concrete than wood or dirt as concrete retains more heat.

If it's windy it can appear to be snowing much more than it is - instead of falling to the ground the snow is blown sideways and not much of it lands.

Answer 2

If the ground is not frozen hard, the snow will melt. It will take a hard freeze (temps in the loewer 20s or below for several days or longer (depending on the temp) to get the ground cold enough for the snow to stick.

Answer 3

I live in michigan also. It has been a pretty warm winter in my opinion. I would think that the snow isnt accumulating because the ground is still a little warm.

Answer 4

because the ground is probably still above freezing, or because it's sunny outside and UV light melts things