snowpack

American  

[snoh-pak] / ˈsnoʊˌpæk /

noun

1. the accumulation of winter snowfall, especially in mountain or upland regions.

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snowpack British  

/ ˈsnəʊˌpæk /

noun

1. a quantity of fallen snow that has become massed together

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snowpack Scientific  

/ snō′păk′ /

1. An area of naturally formed, packed snow that usually melts during the warmer months.

2. The amount of snow that accumulates annually in a mountainous area.

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Etymology

Origin of snowpack

First recorded in 1945–50; snow + pack ¹

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

snowpack

Meanwhile May was warm, causing the snowpack to disappear earlier.

From Barron's ● Jun. 27, 2026

Snowfall in the Gila River watershed was exceptionally scarce, leaving mountain snowpack at just 2 percent of the 1991-2020 March median.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 18, 2026

“There’s never been a winter like this, where we had virtually no precipitation, very little snow, very little rain. We count on that snowpack from the mountains,” he said.

From Slate ● Jun. 1, 2026

The warm winter led to the worst year for snowpack in Colorado and Utah on record, meaning less water in the parched Colorado River.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 21, 2026

His gear seemed exceedingly minimal for the harsh conditions of the interior, which in April still lay buried under the winter snowpack.

From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer