Snow, the other water

I had a tough time coming up with a title for this article. I wanted to go with “Winter is Here” but only other Game of Thrones fans would get the deeper implications of that title.

I thought about “Dreaming of a White Christmas,” but snow isn’t really white. It is clear! Light bouncing around in the snow crystals makes it look white to our eyes.

I thought about “Let it Snow, Let it Snow…,” but we got graupel, tiny snowpuffs that look like those Styrofoam balls that spill everywhere when the dog rips apart a stuffed animal. Light and fluffy, it was sure easy to shovel!

Snow is water, we all know that. Each snowflake is made up of about 180 billion water molecules. Ten inches of snow will melt down to about one inch of water. Snow is water but in a form that holds and surrounds lots of air. The air trapped in snow gives it one of its most important qualities for life on Earth: insulation.

In winter, small creatures live in tunnels under the snow where the temperature doesn’t get much below freezing, a lifestyle called subnivean. Temperatures and wind chill can create minus degrees, while between the soil and snow, mice enjoy a balmy 30 degrees. Smaller plants survive in the insulating snow. I’m always amazed to see green grass when the snow melts. Insect eggs and larvae are tucked away for the winter under the snow. Surprisingly, a whole group of soil bacteria and fungi become active in winter, breaking down organic bits and releasing nitrogen into the soil to fertilize spring wildflowers. Finally, snow insulates the soil so that it holds water in liquid form to be taken up by the still actively growing roots of many plants.

Snow and other forms of frozen water like glaciers and polar ice caps store water in suspended animation for a season or a millennium. In the dry, dry western states, up to 75% of water supply comes from mountain snowpack. Snow typically melts slowly, creating rivulets and trickles that can be absorbed into the soil, eventually seeping down to replenish the groundwater basin.

What happens if our snowpacks diminish? Climate forecasters predict warmer winters with more rain than snow for California. Rain runs off quicker, less soaks into the soil, less replenishes groundwater. While the drought may end, long term water supplies are precarious, and the human population continues to grow and grow.

Hey, the good news is the State Turf Replacement Rebate program still has money, and we’re here to help with your new low water use landscape. Look for our free landscaping classes starting in late February. A series of four classes will explore the details of creating a low water landscape. Also, no-cost landscape consultations are available, even in the depths of winter. As gardeners, we are constrained to winter dreaming. Start dreaming now about your new sustainable landscape.