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The angle of the slope that can hold snow, called the angle of repose, depends on a variety of factors, such as crystal form and moisture content. Some forms of drier and colder snow will only stick to shallower slopes, while wet and warm snow can bond to very steep surfaces.
The density and moisture content of powder snow can vary widely; snowfall in coastal regions and areas with higher humidity is usually heavier than a similar depth of snowfall in an arid or continental region. Light, dry (low moisture content, typically 4–7% water content) powder snow is prized by skiers and snowboarders. [38]
Severe weather can occur under a variety of situations, but three characteristics are generally needed: a temperature or moisture boundary, moisture, and (in the event of severe, precipitation-based events) instability in the atmosphere.
Most transportation modes are impeded by snow on the travel surface. Agriculture often relies on snow as a source of seasonal moisture. Structures may fail under snow loads. Humans find a wide variety of recreational activities in snowy landscapes. It also affects the conduct of warfare.
A landslide, also called a landslip, [10] is a relatively rapid movement of a large mass of earth and rocks down a hill or a mountainside. Landslides can be further classified by the importance of water in the mass wasting process. In a narrow sense, landslides are rapid movement of large amounts of relatively dry debris down moderate to steep ...
Instead, it suggests that the rate of earthquakes in a given area could increase or decrease because of changes in how water is moving beneath the surface and how much pressure the weight of the ...
Water equivalent of snowfall (HNW) is the snow water equivalent of snowfall, measured for a standard observing period of 24 hours or other period. Snow strength (Σ) whether compressive, tensile, or shear, snow strength can be regarded as the maximum stress snow can withstand without failing or fracturing, expressed in pascals per second, squared.
Moderately damaging earthquakes strike between New York and Wilmington, Delaware, about twice a century, the USGS said, and smaller earthquakes are felt in the region roughly every two to three years.