Asnow pillow is a device for measuringsnowpack, especially for automated reporting stations such asSNOTEL.
The snow pillow measures thewater equivalent of the snow pack based onhydrostatic pressure created by overlying snow.[1] Any discrepancy due to bridging is minimized by the large dimension of the pillow, typically 9 square metres (11 sq yd).
Another application for snow pillows is to estimate the snow weight on a roof to warn of potential for roof collapse.
Snow pillows were developed in the early 1960s.[2]
Large dimensions (e.g. 3 m × 3 m) of the pillow prevent any bridging that might occur from having an effect on the measurement readings. For snow pressure measurement on roofs using a smaller snow pillow (e.g. 1 m × 1 m) is the better choice, because of the weight of the filling of the snow pillow.[citation needed]
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