--- title: Fog: Number One Contributor to Melting Snow | WeatherBug | WeatherBug description: Fog and wind accelerate snow loss the most. canonical: https://www.weatherbug.com/news/Fog-Number-One-Contributor-to-Melting-Snow og:title: Fog: Number One Contributor to Melting Snow | WeatherBug | WeatherBug og:description: Fog and wind accelerate snow loss the most. og:url: https://www.weatherbug.com/news/Fog-Number-One-Contributor-to-Melting-Snow og:site_name: WeatherBug og:locale: en_US og:image: https://cms-assets-con.cdn.weatherbug.net/assets/contentitems/d4/d4b1233c-5ba4-48a6-a342-1ee46f4e2488/52e0ce98-d40a-4283-82d1-d0fe816ebf4b/f7561b21-b21f-4b04-ba91-8106d996f6f8.jpg og:image:width: 800 og:image:height: 600 og:image:alt: A person jogs along the Rideau Canal in Ottawa, on Saturday, Dec. 31, 2022. According to Environment Canada a rainfall and fog advisory is in effect for Ottawa and the surrounding regions calling for 20 to 30 mm of rain and reduced visibility. (Spencer Colby /The Canadian Press via AP) og:type: article article:published_time: 2023-01-20T01:24:14Z article:modified_time: 2023-01-20T01:24:14Z article:author: By WeatherBug Sr. Meteorologist, Chad Merrill article:tag: fog article:tag: map article:tag: maps article:tag: snow article:tag: wind twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Fog: Number One Contributor to Melting Snow | WeatherBug twitter:description: Fog and wind accelerate snow loss the most. twitter:image: https://cms-assets-con.cdn.weatherbug.net/assets/contentitems/d4/d4b1233c-5ba4-48a6-a342-1ee46f4e2488/52e0ce98-d40a-4283-82d1-d0fe816ebf4b/f7561b21-b21f-4b04-ba91-8106d996f6f8.jpg --- [](/weather-forecast/now) [Back to forecast](/weather-forecast/now) # Fog: Number One Contributor to Melting Snow January 19, 2023 at 08:24 PM EST By WeatherBug Sr. Meteorologist, Chad Merrill  When most people think of snowmelt, the first thing that might come to mind as the culprit is rain. Believe it or not, other factors contribute much more efficiently to the snow melting process. The temperature of fresh snowpack is usually below freezing. When rain first falls on the snowpack, it freezes and creates a thin layer of ice on top of the snow. While that ice can compact the snow a bit, it doesn’t contribute to the melting process. A snowpack colder than the freezing mark has very little or no ability to absorb rainwater. Snowpack that has been on the ground for quite some time, especially during a transition to a warmer air mass, will warm above the freezing mark. When a rainstorm arrives, the water will go right through that snowpack because it’s ripe, having warmed above the freezing mark. A ripe snowpack will easily melt at the expense of rain. So, if rain is only effective at melting snowpack that is ripe or warmer than freezing, what other factors contribute the most to snow melt? The answer is simply fog and wind. In advance of a warm front, a warm, moist air mass pushes over a colder surface and usually develops fog. This condensation releases heat, which is much more efficient at melting snow than rain. Warm fronts are usually associated with a wintry mix that changes to rain. So, the fog can help warm the snowpack above freezing and begin to thin the snowpack. Then, once the transition to rain occurs in the weather system, the water will flow through the snow and further accelerate the melting process. Fog can also occur on a clear night with light wind during a mild winter pattern. Wind is also a big contributor to the melting process. Take an extreme example: a chinook wind. This is a downsloping, warm wind coming off the Rockies into the northern Plains. The air mass is already much warmer than freezing when it descends into the Dakotas. Now, add in the friction created between the wind and surface of the snowpack and within hours, several inches of snow can disappear. The snow doesn’t even have time to melt, but rather sublimes or vaporizes. This particular type of wind is often referred to as a “snow eater” because of how quickly it can eradicate an existing snowpack. In a typical winter, a warmer wind can occur several days to a week after a fresh snowfall during a pattern transition. The combination of sunshine and a milder wind will accelerate the loss of the snowpack. So, the next time a fresh snowfall occurs in your neighborhood and the weather report several days later calls for warmer temperatures and a breezy wind (usually a southerly component), know that is the perfect recipe for snow around your property to rapidly melt or at least thin considerably. Follow the latest forecast using the WeatherBug phone app and check out the News section on information regarding major weather systems moving across the U.S. \--- Story Image: A person jogs along the Rideau Canal in Ottawa, on Saturday, Dec. 31, 2022\. According to Environment Canada a rainfall and fog advisory is in effect for Ottawa and the surrounding regions calling for 20 to 30 mm of rain and reduced visibility. (Spencer Colby /The Canadian Press via AP) We use technologies, such as cookies, to analyze your use (i.e., pages visited), to customize content, for our internal analytics purposes and for security and other purposes. By continuing to use this website, you agree to this usage. Please review our [privacy policy](/legal/privacy) for more details as well as for information on how to contact us to object to these activities. [Ad Choices](/legal/privacy#digitaladvertisingandyourchoices) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://www.weatherbug.com/news/Fog-Number-One-Contributor-to-Melting-Snow"},"headline":"Fog: Number One Contributor to Melting Snow","description":"Fog and wind accelerate snow loss the most.","image":["https://cms-assets-con.cdn.weatherbug.net/assets/contentitems/d4/d4b1233c-5ba4-48a6-a342-1ee46f4e2488/52e0ce98-d40a-4283-82d1-d0fe816ebf4b/f7561b21-b21f-4b04-ba91-8106d996f6f8.jpg"],"datePublished":"2023-01-20T01:24:14Z","dateModified":"2023-01-20T01:24:14Z","dateCreated":"2023-01-20T01:24:14Z","articleSection":"Weather News","keywords":"fog,map,maps,snow,wind","articleBody":"When most people think of snowmelt, the first thing that might come to mind as the culprit is rain. Believe it or not, other factors contribute much more efficiently to the snow melting process.
\r\n
\r\nThe temperature of fresh snowpack is usually below freezing. When rain first falls on the snowpack, it freezes and creates a thin layer of ice on top of the snow. While that ice can compact the snow a bit, it doesn’t contribute to the melting process. A snowpack colder than the freezing mark has very little or no ability to absorb rainwater.
\r\n
\r\nSnowpack that has been on the ground for quite some time, especially during a transition to a warmer air mass, will warm above the freezing mark. When a rainstorm arrives, the water will go right through that snowpack because it’s ripe, having warmed above the freezing mark. A ripe snowpack will easily melt at the expense of rain.
\r\n
\r\nSo, if rain is only effective at melting snowpack that is ripe or warmer than freezing, what other factors contribute the most to snow melt? The answer is simply fog and wind. In advance of a warm front, a warm, moist air mass pushes over a colder surface and usually develops fog. This condensation releases heat, which is much more efficient at melting snow than rain. 
\r\n
\r\nWarm fronts are usually associated with a wintry mix that changes to rain. So, the fog can help warm the snowpack above freezing and begin to thin the snowpack. Then, once the transition to rain occurs in the weather system, the water will flow through the snow and further accelerate the melting process. Fog can also occur on a clear night with light wind during a mild winter pattern. 
\r\n
\r\nWind is also a big contributor to the melting process. Take an extreme example: a chinook wind. This is a downsloping, warm wind coming off the Rockies into the northern Plains. The air mass is already much warmer than freezing when it descends into the Dakotas. Now, add in the friction created between the wind and surface of the snowpack and within hours, several inches of snow can disappear. The snow doesn’t even have time to melt, but rather sublimes or vaporizes. This particular type of wind is often referred to as a “snow eater” because of how quickly it can eradicate an existing snowpack.
\r\n
\r\nIn a typical winter, a warmer wind can occur several days to a week after a fresh snowfall during a pattern transition. The combination of sunshine and a milder wind will accelerate the loss of the snowpack. So, the next time a fresh snowfall occurs in your neighborhood and the weather report several days later calls for warmer temperatures and a breezy wind (usually a southerly component), know that is the perfect recipe for snow around your property to rapidly melt or at least thin considerably. 
\r\n
\r\nFollow the latest forecast using the WeatherBug phone app and check out the News section on information regarding major weather systems moving across the U.S. 
\r\n---
\r\nStory Image: A person jogs along the Rideau Canal in Ottawa, on Saturday, Dec. 31, 2022. According to Environment Canada a rainfall and fog advisory is in effect for Ottawa and the surrounding regions calling for 20 to 30 mm of rain and reduced visibility. (Spencer Colby /The Canadian Press via AP)","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"By WeatherBug Sr. Meteorologist, Chad Merrill","url":"https://www.weatherbug.com"},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"WeatherBug","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://www.weatherbug.com/images/sharing/f1ff28ba-6f06-4745-a782-011a20397e16.png"}}} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"WebSite","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://www.weatherbug.com/news/Fog-Number-One-Contributor-to-Melting-Snow","relatedLink":"https://www.weatherbug.com/news/Fog-Number-One-Contributor-to-Melting-Snow"},"name":"WeatherBug","url":"https://www.weatherbug.com/news/Fog-Number-One-Contributor-to-Melting-Snow","headline":"Fog: Number One Contributor to Melting Snow","description":"Fog and wind accelerate snow loss the most.","dateModified":"2023-01-20T01:24:14Z","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"WeatherBug","url":"https://www.weatherbug.com","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/WeatherBug","https://instagram.com/WeatherBug","https://www.linkedin.com/company/weatherbug","https://www.pinterest.com/weatherbug","https://twitter.com/WeatherBug","https://www.youtube.com/user/WeatherBugVideo"],"logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://www.weatherbug.com/images/logos/weatherbug_logo_620x447.png"}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"WeatherBug","url":"https://www.weatherbug.com","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/WeatherBug","https://instagram.com/WeatherBug","https://www.linkedin.com/company/weatherbug","https://www.pinterest.com/weatherbug","https://twitter.com/WeatherBug","https://www.youtube.com/user/WeatherBugVideo"],"logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://www.weatherbug.com/images/logos/weatherbug_logo_620x447.png"}}} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Organization","name":"WeatherBug","logo":"https://www.weatherbug.com/images/logos/weatherbug_logo_620x447.png","url":"https://www.weatherbug.com","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/WeatherBug","https://instagram.com/WeatherBug","https://www.linkedin.com/company/weatherbug","https://www.pinterest.com/weatherbug","https://twitter.com/WeatherBug","https://www.youtube.com/user/WeatherBugVideo"]} ```