Snow Crust

From Fiswiki

Snow Crust is the crisp, almost icy, surface on fallen snow, usually formed by the slight melting and refreezing of the surface snow.

Basically, three types of snow crusts exist, formed by

1. ) the refreezing of surface snow, after melting and/or wetting, to form a hard layer of snow (sun crust, rain crust, spring crust);
2. ) the packing of snow into a hard layer by wind action (wind crust, wind slab); and
3. ) the freezing of surface water, however derived, to form a continuous layer of ice on top of snow (film crust, ice crust). A snow crust is designated as “breakable” or “unbreakable” according to its ability to support a person on skis.

[edit] Also See

• Snow crust
• Sun crust
• Rain
• Snow
• Wind slab
• Snow
• Snowpack
• Snow Crystals
• Spring crust
• Wind crust
• Sastrugi

[edit] Reference

1. Glossary of Meteorology Snow Crest [1]

---

Return to Snow and Weather Glossary, Working with Snow, Freestyle Skiing