Why does snow get heavier when it's wet?

Question

It's the same mass/weight, whether it's 8" of powder snow, or melts to 4" of wet snow...

People just get more snow in their shovels when it's melted down, so they think it's heavier right? Thoughts please...

Answer 1

Snow doesn't "get heavier" when it's wet, or melting. The mass is unchanged (except for perhaps the miniscule amount of snow that directly turns to vapor on melting).

What you're describing is something of an illusion, based on the ability of shovels to collect higher masses of snow/ice/water for each shovel-load when snow is wet versus when it is dry and fluffy.

Answer 2

Snow gets heavier when it's wet because it has more moisture content in it.

Snow crystals form in varyous designs depending on the temperature. The colder and drier the atmosphere is when snow forms, the fluffier the snow will be, and have a lot of holes in the snow when it accumulates in which the voids are filled with air.

Snow crystals that form in more warm/moist air has a tendency to not be as fluffy, and when it piles up on the ground there are fewer voids and more actual moisture in those same 4" or whatever depth we're comparing.

So when it's snowing at 30 degrees vs snowing at 10 degrees, you're going to notice a big difference in how hard you'll have to work to shovel your driveway.

Answer 3

The snow is compacted when it melts because the molecules of water are no longer held apart from each other by the crystals that they form, so when when the 8'' compacts to 4'', it is twice as dense.

Answer 4

Yes, water expands when it gets cold, so when it melts, it contracts. That means you get more snow on the shovel, so it just feels heavier.

Answer 5

Water to air content my friend. Water is a little heavier than Air.

Answer 6

density prevails and thusly there IS more snow (more
watery) in the shovel

Answer 7

It is more dense.