How much difference in the outside temperature does having a foot or two of snow pack make?

[NNN0LHI]

Got up to about 43 today with no snow on the ground. Just wondering about how many degrees a foot or two of snow sitting on the ground everywhere like we normally have this time of year would have effected that?

Anyone know?

Don

[boston bean]

1. Don, you seem to be very distracted with the weather.

After last years winter, I'm damn happy we haven't had any snow, and grateful for the warmer weather.

[htuttle]

2. There is probably more cooling effect due to the albedo from the snow cover reflecting sunlight

...instead of absorbing it. The snow cover also insulates what's under the ground if it ends up dipping down to very low temperatures.

In Wisconsin, if we have a few weeks of unseasonably warm weather in January (as we are), then a typical February deep freeze, it's likely to kill a lot of buds, bulbs and seeds if there isn't snow on the ground. Off-season weather in the winter can have a dramatic effect on vegetation, and not usually for the good.

[rurallib]

3. sometimes, particularly in the spring you can see the snow line on a map

we usually go through a period of thawing in the spring in Iowa.
Where the snow is still sitting on the ground you can see a 15 degree difference or so.
Nothing scientific here, just some observations over the years.
The dark ground absorbs the energy whereas the snow reflects it.