Explaining snow measurements

ASHWAUBENON - Officially, Winter Storm Alan dropped 4.1" of snow at the Green Bay National Weather Service office in Ashwaubenon.

 But if you look around the area, it might not look like 4 inches.

“Especially during the first half of the event, temperatures were at or just above freezing, so that does tend to compact the snowfall and cause it to look like less fell than what actually did occur,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Jeff Last.

And the grass you can see poking through the fresh snow is not the best for getting accurate snow measurements.

In addition to the grass potentially holding up the snow pack that falls and inflating totals, it can also artificially deflate the totals, and that's because of the color. The grass is darker than the official observation boards that the snow measurements are taken on, and so it absorbs more heat and might end up melting some of the snow that falls.

Also, what you see in your area might look different than the official totals simply because it is different.

“The snowfall will vary over a distance and parts of the eastern half of Brown County didn't get as much snow as in the western part of the county, where the official observing site is,” said Last.

And it doesn't even have to be a cross-county distance, moving from one side of town to the other can make a difference.