snowpack

American  

[snoh-pak] / ˈsnoʊˌpæk /

noun

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

---

snowpack British  

/ ˈsnəʊˌpæk /

noun

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

---

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.

---

Etymology

Origin of snowpack

First recorded in 1945–50; snow + pack ¹

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

snowpack

By summer, the effects of the weak 2025-2026 mountain snowpack in the Upper Colorado Basin had reached Lake Powell.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 23, 2026

The extreme heat is causing dwindling snowpack in the state, with far-reaching impacts on agriculture and water supply, not to mention the multi-billion dollar ski industry.

From Salon ● Sep. 5, 2026

An abnormally dry winter resulted in a much-diminished snowpack in the Rocky Mountains, while the scorching temperatures of the hottest July ever recorded in the US have increased evaporation from the lake, he said.

From Barron's ● Aug. 27, 2026

Meanwhile, the Western U.S. as a whole experienced record-breaking heat in January through March, rapidly melting the mountain snowpack, he added.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 20, 2026

It is a hot, humid afternoon, and the river is livid with runoff from the fast-melting snowpack that still blankets the glaciers in the higher elevations of the Alaska Range.

From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer