Rain to Snow Calculator

Enter the total amount of liquid precipitation (rain equivalent) and the temperature to estimate the equivalent amount of snowfall.

By Temperature

By Snow Ratio

Enter any 2 values to calculate the missing variable.

Rain

Temperature

Snow

Rain to Snow Formula

The following rule-of-thumb formula is used to estimate the amount of snow (in inches) from the liquid precipitation amount (in inches) based on air temperature. Actual snow-to-liquid ratios vary widely with humidity, wind, crystal type, and storm dynamics.

S \approx R \times \left(10 + \frac{32 - T}{3}\right)

Where S is the amount of snow (inches)
R is the amount of liquid precipitation (inches)
T is the air temperature (°F). This approximation is most reasonable for temperatures near or below freezing (roughly 0°F to 34°F).

To estimate the equivalent snowfall, multiply the liquid precipitation amount by an estimated snow-to-liquid ratio that increases as the temperature gets colder.

Rain (in) to Snow (in) Conversion Table (Selected Temperatures: 32°F and 20°F)
Rain (in)	Temperature (°F)	Snow (in)
0.10	32	1.00
0.10	20	1.40
0.25	32	2.50
0.25	20	3.50
0.50	32	5.00
0.50	20	7.00
0.75	32	7.50
0.75	20	10.50
1.00	32	10.00
1.00	20	14.00
1.25	32	12.50
1.25	20	17.50
1.50	32	15.00
1.50	20	21.00
2.00	32	20.00
2.00	20	28.00
2.50	32	25.00
2.50	20	35.00
3.00	32	30.00
3.00	20	42.00
Snow is calculated using the calculator’s rule-of-thumb: Snow ≈ Rain × (10 + (32 − Temperature)/3), where Rain and Snow are in inches and Temperature is in °F.

Rain to Snow Conversion

Converting rain to snow is the process of calculating the amount of snow that would fall from a given amount of rain precipitation if it was cold enough outside.

Rain to Snow Example

FAQ

How much snow is 1 inch of rain?

A common rule of thumb is about 10 inches of snow for 1 inch of liquid precipitation near 32°F, but the snow-to-liquid ratio can vary widely (roughly ~5:1 for very wet snow to 20:1+ for cold, fluffy snow).