snow pack
Compressed winter layers
Snowpack is the accumulated snow that builds up over a season, particularly in mountainous regions.
It serves as a natural reservoir—water stored as snow that releases gradually during spring melt.
Hydrologists monitor snowpack to predict water availability for irrigation, drinking water, and hydroelectric power: The Sierra snowpack is at 60% of normal.
Also spelled as two words.
- spring thawWarming that melts winter's ice
- glacierSlow-moving ice mass
- alpineOf high elevations
- high countryMountainous, elevated terrain
- watershedDrainage area boundary
avalanche · powder · ski season · depth · frozen · winter · winter storms · mountains · ski · base · accumulation · melt · ice · summit · crust · reservoir · drift · water supply
- water sourcesriver, lake, rain, well, pond
- water cyclewater cycle, precipitation, evaporation, condensation, rain
- climateclimate change, climate, weather, global warming, temperature
- winter weatherblizzards, blizzard, snowstorms, winter storms, freezing rain
snow packfresh powder
Newly fallen, uncompacted snow
powder snow · light snow · fresh snow · freshies · champagne powder
snow packdrought
Prolonged water scarcity
runoff · meltwater · snowmelt · summer drought · streamflow
snow, pack, snows, snowed, snowing, snowy, snowfall, snowflake, snowstorm