snowpack

[ snoh-pak ]

/ ˈsnoʊˌpæk /

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noun

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

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Origin of snowpack

First recorded in 1945–50; snow + pack¹

Words nearby snowpack

Snowmass Mountain, snowmelt, snowmobile, snow mold, snow-on-the-mountain, snowpack, snow pea, snow pear, snow pellet, snow pellets, snow plant

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use snowpack in a sentence

The major man-made storage reservoirs are less than half full, and the planet’s natural storage—snowpack and soil moisture—are depleted, too.
Is This Winter’s Sketchy Snowpack the New Normal?|Heather Hansman|February 19, 2021|Outside Online
It should be warm enough in the afternoon, though, for a bit of that snowpack to start melting away.
After 2 to 4 inches of snow, an icy night ahead in D.C. area. Snow showers possible Monday.|Jason Samenow, Dan Stillman, Andrew Freedman|February 1, 2021|Washington Post
Should be warm enough in the afternoon, though, to start seeing a bit of that snowpack melt away.
Let it snow! A few inches likely to accumulate today; more tomorrow into Tuesday?|Brian Jackson, Dan Stillman|January 31, 2021|Washington Post
Gow was well-trained in understanding the complicated formula of weather, snowpack conditions and terrain that leads to avalanches.
How One Man Survived a Plane Crash and 5 Days in the Snowy Canadian Wilderness—and Went On to Help Shape the Modern Ski Industry|Cassidy Randall|December 27, 2020|Time

While it’s not universally true, deeper snowpacks tend to be less volatile when it comes to persistent weaknesses.
Last Weekend Was a Deadly One in the Rockies|Marc Peruzzi|December 24, 2020|Outside Online
In northeastern Yellowstone, the snowpack has declined 22 percent since 1975.
Who Will Save the Wolverine? Not the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service|Doug Peacock|July 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The depth to which it sinks is considered the penetrability of the snowpack by a walking deer.
Ecological Studies of the Timber Wolf in Northeastern Minnesota|L. David Mech

British Dictionary definitions for snowpack

snowpack

/ (ˈsnəʊˌpæk) /

noun

a quantity of fallen snow that has become massed together

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for snowpack

snowpack

[ snō′păk′ ]

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

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