Wind-blown Snow as a Water Resource
Research History
Small-scale Snow Fence Drifts
In the winter 1978-79, our blizzard research team made a careful study of why
and how well scale models work (Tabler 1980b). As part of that study, we made
many model runs with small-scale snow fences. When surface roughness and wind
speed are correctly scaled, the small-scale snowdrifts predict full-scale
drifts with remarkable accuracy, including the maximum depth and horizontal
extent. In the top photo, Ron has cut away the snow along a drift cross
section, for comparison with the full scale drift in the bottom photo. Wind
is from the left in each photo.
To Small-scale Models