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Glite Dictionary
🌱 Melting period 💧 Melted snow water
snowmelt

snowmelt

2 3.4
A time in spring when snow turns into water and makes rivers rise
  • noun
  • /ˈsnoʊˌmɛlt/
  • UK
translation icon : deshielo
  • Global warming, the researchers report, would cause snowmelt and runoff to start—and to peak—earlier in the year.
  • snowmelt runoff
  • spring snowmelt
  • timing of snowmelt

Examples

  • Natural variations in surface topography create depressions that fill with water from snowmelt during summer.

    Academic text (2011)

  • The Upper Mississippi River and its tributaries respond regularly to heavy rainfall and snowmelt events by flooding low-lying areas along their reaches.

    Academic text (2007)

  • For example, the water may be available during the spring of the year following snowmelt in upstream areas.

    Academic text (2000)

  • Mountainous areas provide the best places and should provide sufficient snowmelt and rain to maintain the water supply.

    Blog text (15)

  • In addition to sewage, the single pipes convey surface drainage from rainfall or snowmelt to treatment facilities.

    Academic text (1997)

  • In the spring, during the time of the snowmelt, shellfish, herring, salmon, and other fish were part of the menu.

    Academic text (2002)

  • Snowpack has decreased, and the timing of snowmelt and peak runoff has shifted earlier in the spring.

    Academic text (2016)

  • Colonial Spaniards quickly recognized that ditch irrigation is one of the most effective means of diverting spring snowmelt and summer rains to croplands.

    Academic text (2002)

  • Reservoirs have played an important role in smoothing out the sharp seasonal peaks and troughs in water availability from western snowmelt-dominated rivers, and they give water users some protection from short-term droughts.

    Academic text (2008)

  • During spring, rivers swell with water from snowmelt, creating a beautiful view of nature.

Synonyms

thaw
vssnowmelt
  • UK
12 2.0

A period when snow and ice melt because the weather is warmer

is specific to spring and often increases river and stream flow

Antonyms

freeze
44 1.4

A time when it is cold enough for water to turn to ice

How Rapid

snowmelt
  • UK
2 3.4
thaw
  • UK
12 2.0

Surface Forms

snowmelt singular
snowmelts plural

Morphology

snowmelt = snow + melt (transparent) = snow + melt

The meaning is directly composed from 'snow' + 'melt' and follows a common English compound pattern referring to the melting of snow.

Etymology

Snowmelt is a simple combination of snow and melt, and melt means 'to become liquid'. So snowmelt is the time or process when snow turns into water and often makes rivers rise.