At a Glance

Snow from this weekend's nor'easter will be fluffy and powdery due to colder temperatures.Fluffy snow is blown around easily and may add to blizzard conditions.Powdery snow is easier to shovel but can pile up quickly.

Winter Storm Kenan will bring snow, strong winds and blizzard conditions to parts of the Northeast this weekend, but the type of snow it's packing will also make a difference in the kind of impacts the storm will bring.

Kenan's snow will be the powdery, fluffy kind. Powdery snow easily blows around, and when combined with the strong winds expected with this nor’easter, will greatly reduce visibility and may result in blizzard conditions at times.

Light, fluffy snow is also not good news for anyone hoping to make snowballs. The heavy, wet snow is the kind that easily sticks together, so sledding may be a better outdoor activity than making snowmen.

The good news is that fluffy snow is lighter and easier to shovel, so it doesn’t weigh down on tree limbs or power lines as much as a similar amount of heavy, wet snow. The only catch is it also piles up quicker as less water is needed to result in a lot of snow.

(MORE: Complete Winter Storm Kenan Forecast)

The type of snow also makes a difference in determining snowfall totals. Light, fluffy snow has less liquid water in it compared to heavy, wet snow. This can be referred to as the snow-to-liquid ratio, which is the amount of liquid (or water) there is after melting the snow.

A 10-to-1 ratio, meaning 10 inches of snow for an inch of water, is what's typical in most snow. This is generally the case when temperatures are around 32 degrees.

But if temperatures at the surface are a bit above freezing that ratio could be closer to 5 inches of snow to an inch of liquid, or heavy, wet snow. Conversely, if temperatures are in the 20s that ratio could be 15 or 20 inches of snow for one inch of water.

Factors affecting snow ratios.

(NWS-Aberdeen)

Temperature also plays a crucial role in whether the snow that's actively falling is heavy and wet, or light and fluffy.

Snow starts off as light and fluffy well above the ground, but as it falls closer to the surface of the ground, temperatures typically increase and things can change.

If it is warmer and closer to freezing near the surface the snowflakes can start to melt and stick together. This increases the liquid content of the snow and the result is heavier, wet and sticky snow.

However, if it is below freezing at the surface snowflakes don’t melt and the flakes remain light and powdery, as should be the case with Kenan.

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