It's one thing to say it snowed more than 3 feet. It's another when you think about how much that weighs.
Upstate New York, especially Buffalo and Watertown, is getting hammered by a potentially historic winter storm dumping more than 3 feet on spots -- and barely anything on others a few miles away. How does that work?
Well, that's lake-effect snow for you. Learn how it forms and more about that weather phenomenon here.
The weight element of it, though, is easy to underestimate -- and that's a risk that homeowners and snow shovelers everywhere don't want to take. Simply put, that kind of snow weighs a ton -- 11 tons, actually, for 3 feet of fresh snow.
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Old snow is even heavier. We crunched some numbers using estimates of snow weights and vehicles from various sources. Check out the equivalents of the average weight of a foot and more of snow (and old snow) on your roof.
- Average weight of 12" of fresh snow on a roof: 7,000 pounds = 2 compact SUVs parked on the roof
- Average weight of 24" of fresh snow on a roof: 15,000 pounds = 4 compact SUVs parked on the roof
- Average weight of 36" of fresh snow on a roof: 22,000 pounds = 6 compact SUVs parked on the roof
- Average weight of 48" of fresh snow on a roof: 30,000 pounds = 9 compact SUVs parked on the roof
It gets downright scary when we start talking about older or settled snow. Using the same sources as for fresh snow:
- Average weight of 12" of older snow on a roof: 24,000 pounds = 7 compact SUVs parked on the roof
- Average weight of 24" of older snow on a roof: 48,000 pounds = 14 compact SUVs parked on the roof
- Average weight of 36" of older snow on a roof: 72,000 pounds = 21 compact SUVs parked on the roof
- Average weight of 48" of older snow on a roof: 96,000 pounds = 27 compact SUVs parked on the roof
The National Weather Service expects snow to continue falling in the Buffalo area through Sunday.
