Snow gauge
A snow gauge is a type of instrument used by meteorologists and hydrologists to gather and measure the amount of solid precipitation (as opposed to liquid precipitation that is measured by a rain gauge) over a set period of time.
The snow gauge consists of two parts, a copper catchment container and the funnel shaped gauge itself. The actual gauge is mounted on a pipe outdoors and is approximately 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) high, while the container is 51.5 cm (201/4 in) long.
When snow has fallen the container is removed and replaced with a spare. The snow is then melted, while still in the container, and poured into a glass measuring graduate. While the depth of snow is normally measured in centimetres, the measurement of melted snow (water equivalent) is in millimetres. An estimate of the snow depth can be obtained by multiplying the water equivalent by ten.
The snow gauge suffers from the same problem as that of the rain gauge when conditions are windy. If the wind is strong enough, then the snow may be blown across the wind gauge and the amount of snow fallen will be under-reported. However, due to the shape and size of the funnel this is a minor problem.
If the wind is very strong and a blizzard occurs then extra snow may be blown into the gauge and the amount of snow fallen will be over-reported. In this case the observer must judge how much of the water is from snow blown into the container and how much is fallen snow.
Another problem that occurs, is when both snow and rain fall before the observer has time to change the gauge. In all of these cases the observer must judge how much of the water is snow and how much is rain.
Remote reading gauges, such as used by weather stations, work similarly to rain gauges. They have a large catch area (such as a drum sawn in half, top to bottom) which collects snow until a given weight is collected. When this critical weight is reached, it tips and empties the snow catch. This dumping trips a switch, sending a signal. The collection then repeats. If the catch container has a heater in it, it measures the snow weight accurately. It is also possible to tip based on volume instead of weight, with appropriate fill sensing.
Another snow sensor called a snow pillow looks like a round bag laying on the ground. Inside the pillow is a liquid such as an environmentally safe antifreeze. Usually the snow pillow will be connected to a manometer. The manometer reading will vary based on how much snow is sitting on the pillow. This type of sensor works well for many locations but is more difficult to use in areas of hard blowing snow.
Cooper Tire & Rubber Company
Cooper Tire & Rubber Company is a United States based global company that specializes in the design, manufacture, marketing and sales of passenger car, light truck, medium truck tires and subsidiaries that specialize in motorcycle and racing tires, as well as tread rubber and related equipment for the retread industry. With headquarters in Findlay, Ohio, Cooper Tire has 59 manufacturing, sales, distribution, technical and design facilities within its family of companies located around the world. Cooper also owns the Avon Tyres brand, mostly used to produce tires for racing.
Its slogan is “The tire with two names….the company and the man who built it.”
In 1997, the tire business of Avon Rubber plc of Melksham in the United Kingdom was sold to Cooper Tire. This left Avon able to concentrate on its core businesses of automotive components, technical products, and protective equipment. The Cooper Tire site remains a major employer in central Melksham.
Cooper Tire became the official tire of the A1 Grand Prix, dubbed the World Cup of Motorsports, for the series’ initial 2005-2006 season. Cooper is under contract to produce slick tires and treaded rain tires for the series championship for the next two years as well.
Champ Car Atlantic Championship
Cooper Tire will become the official tire of the Champ Car Atlantic Championship beginning in 2007, and the company will also serve as the presenting sponsor of this open-wheel development series.
Cooper is heavily involved in the sport of drifting by supplying tires to several drifters in both the Need for Speed Formula D Drift series and U.S. Drift series.
Snow Miser
Snow Miser is a fictional character from the Rankin/Bass-produced 1974 stop-motion animated Christmas special The Year Without a Santa Claus. Snow Miser was voiced by actor/comedian Dick Shawn.
In the special, Snow Miser controlled cold weather all over Earth; his archnemesis is his half-brother, Heat Miser. Mother Nature was Snow Miser’s (and Heat Miser’s) mother.
Snow Miser was a giant humanoid creature, with the supernatural power to freeze objects at will. Snow Miser lived in a large ice castle, and was attended to by a host of miniature versions of himself. He defended his domain fiercely, yet unlike Heat Miser, was a gregarious, friendly, jocular sort, given to gales of laughter and bad puns about snow and cold weather.
Both Snow and Heat Miser sing a memorable ragtime style song introducing themselves.
In the 2006 NBC live-action remake, he is played by actor Michael McKean.
Action figures based on The Year Without a Santa Claus were produced by Palisades Toys in 2002 and included the Snow Miser, the Heat Miser and their tiny clone-like assistants. The figures are scheduled to be re-released by NECA in late 2006.
In the movie Batman and Robin, Mr. Freeze (played by Arnold Schwarzenegger) tries to get his henchmen to learn the Snow Miser’s song. A clip from The Year Without a Santa Claus is shown.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (ballet)
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is a non-traditional modern ballet rising from the success of other fairytale ballets such as Cinderella, Coppélia, and Alice in Wonderland.
With the direct correlation between classic fairytale ballets and Walt Disney animations, Snow White became an idea many ballet companies have adopted into their own original work, pulling from the Disney animation and Disneyland Snow White musical for guidelines.
Scenes in this ballet vary from company to company as this is not a traditional performance piece.
Scenes appearing in most productions of the Snow White ballet include:
- Village scene - traditional opening to many classic ballet productions.
- Palace or Garden - to introduce the queen and huntsman.
- Enchanted Woods - Where Snow White flees the Huntsman, sometimes with dancing trees.
- Forest - Where Snow White meets animals and the dwarfs.
- Wedding - Traditional ending to many classic ballet productions.
Characters in the Snow White ballet typically mimic those in the Disney production in appearance and costume as that is where most inspiration comes from.
These characters typically include:
- Snow White
- queen
- doctor
- Huntsman
- Seven Dwarfs
- Animals
- Villagers
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (ballet)
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is a non-traditional modern ballet rising from the success of other fairytale ballets such as Cinderella, Coppélia, and Alice in Wonderland.
With the direct correlation between classic fairytale ballets and Walt Disney animations, Snow White became an idea many ballet companies have adopted into their own original work, pulling from the Disney animation and Disneyland Snow White musical for guidelines.
Scenes in this ballet vary from company to company as this is not a traditional performance piece.
Scenes appearing in most productions of the Snow White ballet include:
- Village scene - traditional opening to many classic ballet productions.
- Palace or Garden - to introduce the queen and huntsman.
- Enchanted Woods - Where Snow White flees the Huntsman, sometimes with dancing trees.
- Forest - Where Snow White meets animals and the dwarfs.
- Wedding - Traditional ending to many classic ballet productions.
Characters in the Snow White ballet typically mimic those in the Disney production in appearance and costume as that is where most inspiration comes from.
These characters typically include:
- Snow White
- queen
- doctor
- Huntsman
- Seven Dwarfs
- Animals
- Villagers
SNoW
SNoW (pronounced: “Snow”, born June 11, 1985 in Tokyo, Japan) is a J-Pop singer. She currently attends Santa Monica College in California. She has grown up in a bilingual environment. Her favorite artists include Ani DiFranco, Iggy Pop, Talking Heads, and Jack Johnson.
Her debut single Yes was released under an indie record label in November 2004. In 2005, she switched labels to Sony Music Entertainment Japan and released Hanabi made Ato Sukoshi (花火まであとすこし - unofficial translation: “A Little Longer Until the Fireworks”) in July. Her third single, Sakasama no Chō (逆さまの蝶 - unofficial translation: “The Inverted Butterfly”), was released on January 25, 2006. Sakasama no Chō was the opening theme of the 2005/2006 anime Jigoku Shoujo (地獄少女), and will be inserted into the movie Humoresque ~Sakasama no Chō~, to be released in February 2006. The opening theme for Jigoku Shōjo’s second season, NightmaRe, was also performed by SNoW, and was released as a single on December 6, 2006.
初雪(Hatsuyuki) - January 23, 2007
Official websites in Japanese:
- SNoW Official Site
- SNoW - www.sonymusic.co.jp
- Humoresque
Snow angel
A snow angel is a human-made depression formed in an area of snow in the shape of an angel. Making snow angels is a common childhood game, though older people also make snow angels.
The creation of the snow angel is a simple process. The first step is to find an undisturbed plane of snow. The next step is to lie supine, spread-eagled in the center of the snow. The limbs are then swept back and forth, creating a trough through the snow. When it is finished, the snow angel should have the appearance of an angel, the movement of the arms having formed wings, and that of the legs having formed a gown.
On March 28, 2007, Guinness World Records confirmed that North Dakota holds the world record for the most snow angels made simultaneously in one place. The record breaking event occurred February 17, 2007 when 8,962 snow angels were created by people waving their arms while lying in the snow covering the state Capitol grounds in Bismarck.Bismarck world record information
Previously, the record was held by Michigan Tech University with 3,784 students, locals, and alumni making snow angels on the school football field.Michigan Tech world record information
Body lift
A body lift is a common and cheap method to run larger tires on a vehicle. It involves installing a puck where the body mounts to the frame in order to increase the clearance between tires and the body. This is often used to allow the placement of a larger motor for an engine swap. It is considered by many to be inferior to a well built suspension lift. The downfall to installing pucks for spacing is that over time the rubber in the puck tends to deteriorate. This causes the body to sag, and will eventually become unsafe. While the controversy continues about body lifts verses suspension lifts, a properly installed aftermarket body lift kit can give the desired effect just as safely as a suspension lift.
Tire Science and Technology
Tire Science and Technology is a peer-reviewed, scholarly journal published by the Tire Society. The journal was founded in 1973, and published until 1977 by a committee of ASTM. In 1978, the Tire Society was formed to carry on the journal, and continue its mission “to increase and disseminate knowledge of the science and technology of tires”. The journal is published quarterly. It addresses the development and application of experimental, analytical, and computational science in which the tire figures prominently.
The wrong kind of snow
The wrong kind of snow is a phrase coined by the British media in 1991 after severe weather caused disruption to many of British Rail’s services. People who did not realise that there are different kinds of snow saw the reference as nonsensical and the phrase became a byword for euphemistic excuses.
The phrase originated in a comment by British Rail’s Director of Operations Terry Worrall on 11 February 1991 that “we are having particular problems with the type of snow”. The cold snap had been forecast and British Rail had claimed to be ready for the coming snow. However, the snow was unusually soft and powdery, finding its way into electrical systems and causing short circuits and traction motor damage. For traction motors with integral cooling fans and air intakes pointing downwards—the type that is still common on British electric multiple units—the problem was made worse as the air intakes sucked up the loose snow. In addition, low temperatures resulted in problems with pick-up from the third rail and caused sliding doors and couplings to freeze.
Many electric services had to be substituted with diesel haulage and emergency timetables were introduced. Long delays were commonplace—up to eight hours in some cases.
Ironically, the snow was not deep enough for snowploughs or snow blowers to be effective.
