snowpack

[snoh-pak]

noun

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

snowpack

/ ˈsnəʊˌpæk /

noun

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

snowpack

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.

Word History and Origins

Origin of snowpack¹

First recorded in 1945–50; snow + pack ¹

Example Sentences

“Building the snowpack on hydrated watersheds will help us avoid losing potential spring runoff to dry soils later in the season,” Anderson wrote in an email.

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Snowpack is crucial to sustaining California through its hot, dry seasons because it runs down into waterways as it melts, topping off the reservoirs and providing at least 30% of the state’s water supply, said Andrew Schwartz, director of UC Berkeley’s Central Sierra Snow Lab.

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He noted that “holdover” is also used to describe peat bog fires that burn many feet below the surface for weeks or months, even under snowpack.

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Teton Pass, on the stretch of Wyoming Highway 22 that links Jackson Hole to the Teton Valley of eastern Idaho, has always lured backcountry enthusiasts with its wild beauty, deep snowpack, and easy accessibility.

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The snow arrived at a moment when snowpack levels were down to nearly zero across the Sierra Nevada range after melting off over the summer.

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