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What is the purpose of snow fence? Many farms around here have it–orange and white wooden fence attached by wires. The fence is erected in early winter along the edges of fields that border country roads. The fence sits about 50 to 100 feet back from the road. Is it supposed to stop monstrous snow drifts from blocking the roads? Is it supposed to stop snowmobilers?
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Why did the snow melt first around the base of the (deciduous) trees in my yard? Did less snow just land there in the first place (something I couldn’t tell just by looking) due to the branches above, so it melted and exposed the grass sooner? Did the branches above drip water from melting snow/ice onto the snow below, exposing the grass sooner and speeding the overall melting process? Something else?
The snow fence keeps the show from drifing on the road. The fence, which is slatted, slows the wind down so that the snow that might otherwise drift acoss the road instead piles up just downwind of the fence. That’s why the fences are placed quite a way upwind (prevailing winter wind) of the road. If the snow close to the ground, which is what is dropped dropped in the road by obstructions, such as the ditches, etc. is removed by the snow fence then there isn’t room for the wind to pick up more snow by the time it reaches the road. In snowy country the roads are also frequently raised above the surrounding ground so that the snow blows right on acroos instead of drifting on the road.