Issues → January/February 2009 → Features →
New England Numbers: Snow
New England By the Numbers
by Lee Michaelides
$139.99
price of a swinging "plow-proof" mailbox made by MainelyMetals of Pittston, Maine
35
mph or greater wind speed, with snow visibility less than a quarter-mile for at least three hours: official National Weather Service definition of blizzard
83
pounds per square foot: snow-bearing capacity requirement for roofs in coastal Maine (New Jersey roof requirement: only 21 pounds per square foot)
80
different categories of snow crystals described in Magano/Lee field guide
2,000,000,000
gallons of water used annually by Vermont ski areas to make snow
30
decibels: sound level of falling snow, measured from underwater (inaudible by humans, but reportedly annoying to porpoises)
10
inches: snow depth with an R-value equal to 6 inches of fiberglass insulation
13,000,000
pounds of artificial snow used to build a record-setting (122 feet 1 inch) snowwoman in Bethel, Maine, last winter
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