This Winter’s Snow Could Weigh More Than a Trillion Tonnes

Does all of Canada get snow? Let’s get started. What is the Canadian snowpack for the entire season?  Here’s where it all begins.

Canada is experiencing a snowstorm, and as anyone who has shoveled a driveway knows, it can be a heavy job.

It is not necessary for me to tell you that a 10 m by 5 m driveway with 30 cm of snowfall can hold about 1,500 kilograms of snow.

However, it raises a much more important question. What is the total amount of snow that falls in Canada? Let’s get started. It is about to become an astronomical number.

Across Canada, snow ratios vary widely, which refer to the amount of snow produced per centimetre of water. Amounts of snowfall across Canada are determined by atmospheric temperatures.

It’s a complex problem, so let’s break it down step-by-step. Using an average snowfall accumulating region of Canada and a standard ratio of snow to water, we discovered some interesting results.

Canada is divided into the following regions:

• B.C.’s coast covers 65,131 km2
• BC’s interior: 556,841 km2
• Mountains of B.C. 482 774 km2
• 1,800,000 km2 of prairies
• 1,100,000 km2
• 1,400,000 km2
• Area: 500,000 km2

Read Also: What is the weather forecast for cooler temperatures?

Snowfall averages were assigned based on typical snowfall patterns:

• B.C. coast: 50-80cm x 65cm
• B.C. interior: 100-200 cm
• Mountain ranges: 500–1200 cm x 600 cm
• • Prairies: 100-150 cm
• 120-300 cm x 210 cm
• 250×200 mm in Quebec
• Maritimes: 300 cm

Weight is calculated using the snow-to-water ratio, not snowfall depth. We’ll use 10:1 as our crude estimate.

Snowfall depths were converted into water equivalents by taking the standard snow:

water ratio of 10:1. Temperature can change this metric from 5:1 to over 40:1 across Canada.

Amount of water (m3) = Snowfall (m) x Land Area (m2)

Here’s a picture of how much water this would be. During the winter, Lake Ontario would be nearly full of snow from melted snow.

Approximately 64 million water bottles could be given to every Canadian. Is your fridge spacious enough?

Things get heavy here. In the coming weeks, we will be using numbers so huge that they lose meaning. In order to make it more relatable, we’ll try to make it more interesting.

Snow weight can be calculated from volume (m3) x density (1,000 kg/m3) of water.

Snowfall patterns and snow density can shift the actual number by several hundred billion tons higher or lower than the 1.3 trillion tons estimate.

Read Also: 7 states are under winter weather warnings as 2 feet of snow is forecast

During heavy snowfalls, roofs can collapse, causing spring flooding and other problems. 

Montreal allocates $170 million per year to snow removal, while Toronto allocated $160 million to the same purpose for the 2024-2025 season.

Snow is not just a winter inconvenience, it’s essential to Canada’s water cycle, feeding spring melt and facilitating agricultural growth.

Snowfall patterns may change as a result of climate change, however, creating new challenges.

Although this ritual seems routine to Canadians, it poses important health and safety risks. The weight of each shovelful can be as high as 12-15 kilograms, resulting in back injuries.

Cardiovascular events are also a risk, particularly for those with underlying health conditions.

Warmer temperatures produce dense, wetter snow in many regions, decreasing snowfall ratios.

Snow weights in colder regions may temporarily increase due to moisture in a warmer atmosphere.

The Prairies have seen annual snowfall increase, whereas coasts and lower latitudes have experienced decreases.

Rain may fall more frequently in low-elevation regions and coastal areas, reducing overall snowfall weights. Even Canadian winters can’t escape climate change, as evidenced by this trend.

Canada’s snow shapes the country profoundly, from coastal snow to powdery prairie snow. A 1.3 trillion-ton asteroid would weigh more than all the humans on Earth 2,600 times. Winters in Canada can be defined by this annual snow load. 

Snowfall this winter makes us appreciate its sheer scale-and maybe we should invest in better snowblowers!

Read Also: Atlantic Canada is hit by a Flurry of Impacts From a Messy Storm