Snowfences
by Eric Peterson
IF YOU TRAVEL MUCH OF WYOMING, YOU’VE NOTICED THOSE BIG WOODEN FENCES THAT START NO WHERE AND GO NO WHERE. THOSE SNOW FENCES ARE THE PRODUCT OF WYOMING RESEARCH AND DESIGN.
THOSE SNOWFENCES ARE THERE TO DIRECT AND CONCENTRATE SNOW. THEY CREATE A SNOWDRIFT AND REDUCE THE AMOUNT OF SNOW THAT’S AVAILABLE TO BLOW ACROSS THE ROAD, AND THEY ARE USED WORLDWIDE.
A WELL-PLANNED SNOWFENCE CAN BE USED TO AUGMENT THE WATER AVAILABLE FOR PONDS AND RESERVOIRS, TOO. SNOWFENCES ARE DESIGNED TO DEPOSIT SNOW AND THEY ARE POROUS. WIND AND SNOW SLIP THROUGH THEM, BUT WIND AND SNOW ARE SLOWED ENOUGH SO THAT THE SNOW FALLS IN VERY PREDICTABLE PATTERNS.
CHANGING THE DESIGN OF A SNOWFENCE – MAKING IT SOLID, FOR INSTANCE – CHANGES THE PHYSICS OF THE WIND AND SNOW MOVEMENT AND DEPOSITION. A PROPERLY DESIGNED SOLID SNOWFENCE WILL LEAVE A ZONE BEHIND IT WHICH REMAINS CLEAR.
STOCKMENT OFTEN TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS PHENOMENON ON THE WINDY PLAINS OF WYOMING WITH WINDBREAKS. THEIR DESIGN DIRECTS WIND AND SNOW AWAY FROM AN AREA THAT WE WANT TO REMAIN CLEAR. IF YOU ARE SOMETIMES CHALLENGED WITH A PILE OF WIND DRIVEN SNOW, KNOW THAT YOU TOO CAN MANAGE YOUR SNOW PROBLEM USING THIS WYOMING
RESEARCH.
FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF WYOMING COOPERATIVE EXTENSION SERVICE, I’M ERIC PETERSON.