In a right-side-up snowpack, wet snow tends to progress to what form in the upper layers?

• A. Soft/cold snow
• B. Wet snow
• C. Ice
• D. Powder

Answer: (A)

When upper layers of a right-side-up snowpack become wet, warming and melting bring liquid water into the crystals. As conditions cool again and that water drains away or refreezes locally, the crystals reorganize into a softer, colder texture rather than forming a solid ice crust or remaining wet. The result is softer, cold snow in the upper layers.

Powder describes dry, loose snow, which isn’t the outcome when the layer has been wet. Ice would require a more continuous, solid refreeze to create a hard crust, which isn’t the typical result of mixed wetting and cooling in the upper layers. Soft/cold snow captures the metamorphic state of upper-layer grains after wetting and subsequent cooling.