Snow cover map

SNOW COVER MAP

Snow cover map – your current and reliable snow forecast

Where is it snowing right now? Should I expect snowfall in my region anytime soon? If so, how much snow should I anticipate in the next few hours? Answer these questions with our latest snow cover map for the USA, Canada, Europe, and other European countries.

On the snow cover map, you find information about the amount of precipitation in the coming hours. You can also discover how severe the snowfall will be in your area. Additionally, we provide an overview of the current snow levels in the mountains of Canada and the USA. You can find an overview in the snow cover map.

The current snowfall is colored with snowflake symbols on the map. The snow is also displayed in color on the map. A green or blue coloring means weak to moderate precipitation. A violet coloring suggests that you should expect heavy snowfall.

Where is it snowing right now? Is there snowfall in your region? This is how you read the snow cover map:

snow cover map explanationAll areas where snowfall is expected are shown in color on the map. The colors range from blue and green for light snowfall to violet. In areas colored in violet, you can expect an amount of new snow of more than one meter in the next few hours. In some cases, heavy snowfall is accompanied by a thunderstorm (the so-called “blizzard”). This thunderstorm is also indicated by a lightning symbol on the map. Beyond this, the snow cover map offers further useful functions:

cursor snow cover mapUsing the cursor at the bottom left of the snow cover map, you can visualize the future course of the snowfall. This allows you to conclude how precipitation will change over the next 36 hours and whether you should expect snowfall in your region over the next few hours.

snow cover markYou can simply move the snow marker to your desired location with the mouse (or on the cell phone: hold down the white dot of the marker with your finger).

You will then see how much snow you can expect in the next 12 hours.

 

Snow cover map – Current snowfall in the USA and Canada

Have you planned a vacation in the mountains? Would you like to check the current ski weather to find out if you will have enough snow for your trip to the ski slopes? Then use the snow cover map for the USA and Canada. Here you can find out at a glance whether snowfall is to be expected in the mountain regions. You can also see how much snow is currently falling in the respective region and how high the snow depth is:

Snow depth in the USA/Canada

The current snowfall is colored with snowflake symbols on the map. The snow is also displayed in color on the map. A green or blue coloring means weak to moderate precipitation. A violet coloring suggests that you should expect heavy snowfall.

How does a snow cover map work in practice?

The function of a precipitation radar (snow or rain radar) is always the same. With the help of a radar station, microwaves are sent into the clouds. These radar beams are sent back to the radar station by the water droplets in the cloud. The more radar waves hit back to the measuring station, the more precipitation is available in the cloud. Depending on the temperature on the ground and in the air, it can be predicted whether rain or snow will fall.

Using this measurement technique, an accurate picture of the current precipitation area can be created and continuously updated within only a few seconds. Apart from the snow cover map, the cloud radar, tornado radar, rain radar, lightning strike map and storm radar also function in the same way.

Interesting facts about snow:

Why is snow white?

The white color of snow depends on the particular shape of the snowflake. Under the microscope, snowflakes appear to be transparent. However, when sunlight falls on the snowflakes, this light is refracted several times by the special shape of the flake and reflected  through the trapped air in the snowflake. Therefore, the snowflake appears white to the human eye.

Why does snow glitter?

The glitter in snow can also be traced back to the reflection of light by the ice crystals. The uppermost layer of the snow cover, with its countless snowflakes, reflects the light to our eyes directly and without further refraction. For this reason, we see different spots flashing in the snow as we move through the multitude of ice crystals.

Why are snowflakes hexagonal?

The shape of snow is related to the special structure of a water molecule: Due to the electrical charge of the single atoms, these molecules can only arrange themselves in a hexagon or at an angle of 60 degrees or 120 degrees. This hexagonal shape allows the water molecules to form as a crystal very efficiently.

Why does snow crunch when you walk in it?

Where does this crunching and cracking come from when walking in the snow? Basically, you hear nothing other than the breaking of individual ice crystals in the snow. The colder the snow, the stronger this sound can be perceived.

Why does snow melt when exposed to salt?

Salt causes the freezing point of water to no longer be 0 degrees, but significantly lower. After adding salt, water requires significantly lower temperatures to turn into snow and ice. The salt interferes with the formation of ice crystals by splitting the water film and dissolving out water molecules.