Is snow or rain a better source of moisture?

With all the nice weather we have been experiencing, it was a bit of a shock to wake up to snow this week!

It is a welcome sight for sure. I know it has been extremely dry and we all welcome the moisture. Interestingly enough, this sudden snow storm initiated a bit of a debate with a few of my Ag friends though as to whether or not snow or rain is a better source of moisture. Of course, I turned to science to solve this mystery.

Let’s get started!

Remember to ask an adult before doing this experiment.

Materials

• Two clear jars of the SAME size

• Ruler

• Marker

• Snow

• Warm location

• Science notebook

Procedure

• Fill the two jars full of snow.

• Pack down one jar as tightly as you can and keep filling it up to the very top and level it off.

• Label this jar as packed snow.

• Fill the second jar with loose snow. Just scoop it in to the top and carefully level it off.

• Label this jar as loose

snow.

• Set your jars in a warm location so the snow can melt.

• Once the snow has melted, hold the ruler up to the first or tightly packed snow.

• How much water was there in the jar? Record this amount in your science notebook.

• Repeat with the loose snow.

• Record.

What is going on?

I had you measure both loose and tightly packed snow just in case the snowstorm is different. Sometimes we have snow that is light and fluffy and other times it is much heavier and packs down. There is also the argument that snow in the spring is usually much heavier and contains more moisture than other times of the year when it snows.

You should have discovered that it takes a lot of snow to get a little bit of water. It is estimated that you need about 25 cm of snow to have 2.5 cm of water or moisture. That is a

lot of snow! If you have a choice for moisture, pick rain, but this year I will take anything!

The 2021 Kiwanis Regional Science Fair (virtual) is just around the corner. Please visit www.seab-sciencefair.com to start your registration. I am excited to see all of the projects this year.

Patty Rooks, Senior

Scientific Consultant PRAXIS, “Connecting Science To The Community”. Contact Praxis at praxis@praxismh.ca, www. praxismh.ca, Tweet or follow us @PraxisMedHat, or friend us on Facebook. Address: #12 826 11 Street S. E., Medicine Hat, Alberta, T1A 1T7 Phone: 403.527.5365, email: praxis@ praxismh.ca.