Snow Weight - Area (polygon)

$M = f( sT , d , "sides" , "radius" )$

$(n) "number of polygon sides"$

$(r) "radius"$

$(d) "Snow depth"$

$(sT) "Snow Type"$

Tags

The Weight of Snow on a Polygon calculator computes the approximate weight of snow on an POLYGON area (e.g. deck) based on the dimensions of the polygon (number of sides of the polygon and the radius) and the depth and type of snow. /attachments/030c76b1-aafa-11e3-9cd9-bc764e2038f2/SnowWeightAreapolygon-illustration.png Geometric Polygon

INSTRUCTIONS: Choose units and enter the following:

(n) The number of sides of the polygon
(r) The radius of the polygon (from the center to any apex).
(d) The depth of the snow
(sT) Choose the type of snow from the list.

Weight of Snow (M): The Weight / Mass of the Snow is returned in kilograms. However this can be automatically converted to other weight and mass units (e.g. pounds or tons) via the pull-down menu.

Type of snow or ice	(kg/m³)
Fresh New snow	50-70
Damp new snow	100-200
Settled snow	200-300
Depth hoar	100-300
Wind packed snow	350-400
Firn (granular)	400-830
Very wet	700-800
Glacier ice	830-917
Rain/Melt	997

Hydrology (Water, Rain and Snow) Calculators:

The Math / Science

Snow Water Equivalent (SWE) is the product of snow depth and snow density. It can be presented in units of either kg/m2 or m:

SWE ( $(kg)/(m^2)$ ) = snow depth (m) x snow density ( $(kg)/(m^3)$ )
SWE (m) = snow depth (m) x snow density ( $(kg)/(m^3)$ ) / water density ( $(kg)/(m^3)$ )

You can calculate snow depth from SWE if you know the density of the snow. Od course, density of snow can range anywhere from 5% when ambient air temperature is 14 F, and can range up to 20% if the temperature is 32 F.

The snow density will increase after the snowfall due to gravitational settling, packing, wind effects, melting and refreezing.The equation will use a median value for the ranges in the density value column.