Here, we’ve had an unusual amount of snow lately. I cleared off the deck two days ago to relieve it from the mass of snow on top. Then, from the night before until yesterday evening, we received about 18 inches (46cm) of fresh snow.<\/p>\n
Last night I wondered again about the mass of snow on the deck, so I estimated it as follows:<\/p>\n
deck area: 20’x10′ = 200sq. ft.<\/p>\n
A foot is 30.5cm, so a square foot is 930cm2<\/sup>.<\/p>\n Therefore, the deck area is 200x930cm2<\/sup> = 186050cm2<\/sup>.<\/p>\n The height of the snow is 46cm. I’ve heard 10cm of snow is equivalent to 1cm of rain.<\/p>\n Hence, the equivalent volume of water on the deck is 186050cm2<\/sup>x4.6cm = 855830cm3<\/sup>.<\/p>\n Perhaps surprisingly, 1000cm3<\/sup> = 1 litre. It follows that the deck is holding 856 litres of water.<\/p>\n Furthermore, 1 litre of water has mass 1 kg: the mass of snow on the deck is 856kg, or about 1900 pounds.<\/p>\n So, after a heavy snowfall, the mass of snow on a structure can truly be significant.<\/p>\n Good luck with your snow clearing:)<\/p>\n