Snow sweeping
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Weather condition sign 36: Light or moderate snow sweeping (below eye level) |
Weather condition sign 37: Heavy snow sweeping (below eye level) |
Drifting snow prevails when lying on the ground snow by wind stirred up in the bottom-most layers of the atmosphere. The view at eye level of the observer is not impaired. If the visibility drops below a kilometer even at eye level, then there is also blowing snow .
Snow sweeping is one of the consequences of a snow storm , but it can also be caused by strong winds that are free of precipitation and that whirl up and transport snow that has already been laid. Snow sweeping leads in particular to snow drifts . In the mountains, where, due to the rough terrain, it is not possible to differentiate between sweeping snow and blowing snow, this weather condition leads to snow peaks , which are one of the main triggers of avalanches .
See also
swell
- Deutscher Wetterdienst: Observer's manual for reporting points of the synoptic climatological measuring and observation network (BHB) 3rd edition 1998.
- World Meteorological Organization (WMO): Guide to Meteorological Instruments and Methods of Observation.