snow line

noun

: the lower margin of a perennial snowfield

Examples of snow line in a Sentence

climbing above the snow line
Recent Examples on the Web The snow line in Lake Arrowhead will stay low, at around 3,500 to 4,000 feet, on Tuesday but could dip even lower to around 2,500 feet toward the tail end of the storm on Wednesday. Nathan Solisstaff Writer, Los Angeles Times, 27 Feb. 2023 For areas east of I-95, snow totals are less certain and will depend on where the rain/snow line sets up, according to the weather service. Gabe Hauari, USA TODAY, 5 Jan. 2024 There is still a degree of uncertainty with this storm in terms of its ultimate track, which will affect the location of the rain/snow line in relation to the I-95 corridor and how much accumulating snow the major metros will get. Edward Shaw, NBC News, 4 Jan. 2024 Webb found that in two of these disks, massive amounts of cold water vapor appeared past the snow line, confirming that ice sublimating from frozen pebbles can indeed deliver water to planets like ours. Elizabeth Rayne, Ars Technica, 28 Nov. 2023 The data Webb beamed back showed that, while there were spectra suggesting the presence of warmer water vapor emissions far inside the disk, there was also an excess of cold water vapor emissions just on the outside of the snow line. Elizabeth Rayne, Ars Technica, 28 Nov. 2023 On Thursday night, the snow line – the altitude at which snow is possible – will fall to 500 feet, according to San Francisco Chronicle meteorologist Gerry Díaz. Claire Hao, San Francisco Chronicle, 23 Feb. 2023 That’s largely due to the warm air off the Pacific Ocean that commonly keeps the snow line away from mountain ranges in those regions. Gerry Díaz, San Francisco Chronicle, 24 Feb. 2023 The snow line will be high enough in the atmosphere to keep most of the wintry weather out of the city. Gerry Díaz, San Francisco Chronicle, 25 Feb. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'snow line.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1835, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of snow line was circa 1835

Dictionary Entries Near snow line

Cite this Entry

“Snow line.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/snow%20line. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

snow line

noun
: the lower edge of an area of permanent snow (as a mountain peak)

More from Merriam-Webster on snow line

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