snow level

snow level (plural snow levels)

1. The depth of snow accumulated on the ground.
   • 2013 April 13, Michael Mello, “Avalanche forecaster killed in Utah avalanche”, in Los Angeles Times:

     An avalanche sloughing off a Utah mountainside killed a state Department of Transportation avalanche forecaster while he was surveying snow levels near a popular winter recreation area, authorities reported.

2. (meteorology, chiefly Western US) The altitude, in a mountainous region, above which precipitation falls as snow.
   • 2009, Allen B. White et al., “Developing a Performance Measure for Snow-Level Forecasts”, in Journal of Hydrometeorology, volume 11, number 3, →DOI:

     The snow level, or altitude in the atmosphere where snow melts to rain, is an important variable for hydrometeorological prediction in mountainous watersheds; yet, there is no operational performance measure associated with snow-level forecasts in the United States.

   • 2019 December 20, Hannah Fry, “Rain and snow return to Southern California this weekend. How long will it last?”, in Los Angeles Times:

     Snow levels Sunday and Monday are expected to hover about 6,000 feet before dropping to 5,000 feet midweek.

   • 2020 December 18, National Weather Service, 335 AM HST Winter Weather Advisory:

     A surge of moisture moving will produce a wintry mix over the Big Island summits through today. Snow levels are expected to be around 13,000 feet during this time.

• (altitude): snow line