What's worse - 30" of snow or 30" of rain?

[Greg_TX]

(disclaimer: I've never lived in the north and know nothing about the effects of heavy snow)

So, according to the news coverage of the storm in the Northeast, they're expecting (or have already gotten) over two feet of snow from the blizzard up there. That's a heck of a lot of snow. But how does that compare to, say, 20" of rain? Here on the Gulf Coast we have gotten our share of epic amounts of rain and flooding - TS Allison, for instance.

Now, I know nothing about heavy snowfall, but it seems to me it's not as bad as the same amount of rain. For example, cars get buried or stuck in snow, but you'll get it back with a shovel (I guess). If you get the same amount of rain, you'll see reports of cars and people getting swept away in the flood; just several inches of fast-moving water can take an 18-wheeler off the road. Eventually the snow will melt and the water will have to go somewhere - we'll see what happens then.

Snow, for the most part, stays outside the house; flood water, on the other hand, will come right on in and ruin your home. You can play in snow. You can also play in flood water, if you don't mind flotillas of fire ants and maybe getting sucked into a storm drain. Do blizzards spawn tornadoes? I don't know, but heavy thunderstorms sure do.

Heavy snow knocks out power for thousands and so does rain - we'll call that a draw.

The point being, while the news is hyperventilating about the storm up there, it doesn't seem as bad as it is when we get monster storms down here like we do every other year or so that can bring a foot of rain or more. Am I missing the big deal here?

 

[Dcav]

30" of snow is really nothing. Born and raised in NY state. Waking up to 6' of snow is a problem though. 30" of rain would cause massive problems.

Rain to snow ratio:
Meteorology (Weather): rain to snow ratio, dry the rain, dry snow

 

[BurkGlocker]

Definately 30" of snow. Like was said, a 30" deluge would in no doubt cause MASSIVE flooding... Remember the flood of 1993 when the Mississppi overran its banks and caused millions of dollars in damage? That was 48 inches over a course of a few months. There was one report of almost 8" in a three hour period which caused flooding in SD. Here in Wichita Falls, the river overran its banks after it rained here for a week and a half straight. I couldnt find how many inches we received here (I'm guessing around 12-16"), but some places in Wichita were under six feet of water.

 

[Greg_TX]

Well, the good news is that it should keep Congress and O-Dummy hunkered down, so the rest of the country is safe for a few days...

 

[navyguy]

I believe its a 10 to 1 ratio of water. That is 10" of snow is equal to 1" of actual water. So for sure, the 30" of rain would be an issue. Unless of course it was 30" of snow falling some place like Honolulu.

 

[cougartex]

In this part of Texas either would be bad!!

 

[Greg_TX]

One thing I hadn't thought of is the weight of the snow. They're starting to see roofs collapse under the weight - score one there for snow, I guess.

 

[Willy]

Water has to be worse. Johnny Cash sang about it.

 

[Texas1911]

One thing I hadn't thought of is the weight of the snow. They're starting to see roofs collapse under the weight - score one there for snow, I guess.

Mudslides and liquefaction are caused by rain mostly, but can be caused by snow.

 

[swsmailman]

I would rather have 30inches of snow instead of rain, rain just kills my day.

 

[M. Sage]

One thing I hadn't thought of is the weight of the snow. They're starting to see roofs collapse under the weight - score one there for snow, I guess.

Most places in the snow belt are built to handle it. It's buildings with little or no peak to the roof that are going to be collapsing. There's a reason why houses in places like Lake Tahoe are commonly A-frame construction.

Speaking of Tahoe, one of the last times I was up there, it had just had 3 feet (give or take a couple inches) of snow. It was an inconvenience but 3 feet of rain would have caused some major issues.

 

[Texasjack]

Well, the good news is that it should keep Congress and O-Dummy hunkered down, so the rest of the country is safe for a few days...

Absolutely right!

I lived in central NY for a few miserable years. The last year I was there, we had 192 inches of snow (over Sept-May). The most we had at once was probably close to 45 inches. I did a LOT of shoveling. The thing is, those northern states have heavy equipment for plowing roads and such, so it rarely is a big deal for them. You do worry about power going off and maybe having pipes freeze, but most people have wood stoves or fireplaces that they can use for the short term.

My golden retriever - brought with me from Texas - had a hard time adjusting. The first time she tried to squat in snow, only to have that cold snow up her rear, was really something to see! She yelped, ran 10 feet, tried again, yelped again, etc. for at least 20 min. before she found a shallow spot.

We had around 30 inches of rain here during Tropical Storm Allison. It made a real mess out of things. I think the ratio is 14:1 of inches of snow vs inches of water. So 30 inches of rain is like 420 inches of snow. Yeah, that's about the right pain factor.

 

[Outbreak]

Snow isn't a clean cut North/South thing, though. I grew up in Maryland, where we only get snow once or twice a year. The state has plow trucks and salt, but the snow budget inevitably runs out after the first storm of the year, so there's nothing left for the second one. Since we only get one or two snow storms a year, everyone falls into PSH (that's Pants Sh!++ing Hysteria) when snow is forecast, and very few have 4X4 to get around, so no one goes anywhere. The state shuts down when it snows in MD. 30" of the white stuff really screws things up.

Rain, on the other hand, isn't so bad when your state doesn't have the topography of a skillet, like most of Texas does. Abilene floods with a heavy dew, but in Maryland, most of the state has hills, and not many folks like to live at the bottom of the hills. The streams swell, but there isn't much significant flooding. We've been hit by hurricanes, and it's just another rain storm, except for the storm surge (which isn't really rain or snow, is it?) which I've seen make the Inner Harbor of Baltimore about 3 blocks larger in every direction.

If you're not used to or prepared for snow, it can really mess up your day, or week. With rain, there's not much prep. Either your umbrella keeps you dry, or it doesn't.