Why would my neighbor's yard be snowless?

11 years ago

I know this isn't really related to lawn care specifically, but I figured the people here might have the best idea about what is going on.

My backyard is to the south of my house and this always happens when it snows. The people who live there have been there a year and I don't believe the previous neighbors did anything specific to the lawn, other than spray for bugs.

This isn't something I consider a problem or anything; I just can't figure out why there's such a marked difference in snow melt between the properties.

Featured Answer

User

11 years ago

Wind, sunlight levels, and even soil characteristics can influence snow melting. My lawn tends to melt out a little earlier than the neighbors' does because under the snow, their lawns are light tan and mine is dark green. It's going to absorb sunlight much better as soon as temperatures rise enough to allow the snow and ice to melt.

This year, it feels like that might be in May sometime. :-)

We're all in similar levels of (high) wind, so that's not really an influence here. Your fence and plantings might be breaking the wind just enough to cause a change.

Unless you're a complete lawn nut, soil characteristics are unlikely to differ greatly between plots. In my case, I have tons more organic material, so the soil itself is nearly black. Compared to the light brown of the neighbors', there's another reason for early melt-out.

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Comments (9)

asm198 - Zone 6a (MO)
Original Author
11 years ago
Thanks, morpheuspa! I had idly thought that maybe a cause might be soil related, as our lawn isn't in the best condition at the moment, but I don't know any details about if the old neighbor did anything prior to us moving in. It also didn't occur to me that grass color might have something to do with it as well.
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dchall_san_antonio
11 years ago
Anything that darkens the soil makes a difference. Darker things absorb more sunlight and remain warmer longer. I've seen places where the grass has burned away go snowless and even recover from dormancy earlier in the spring.
User
11 years ago
Reflections also matter, now that I think about it a bit more. My southern face returns earliest because the house, to the north, is a big, taupe wall reflecting sunlight down at the soil.

Returning grass growth starts nearest the house in the warmth (as a general rule) and flows outward toward the edges of the property.
dave_f1 SC, USDA Zone 8a
11 years ago
Maybe there are differences in the mowed height of your lawns? That would effect soil temperature before the snowfall and size of air pockets. Maybe your lawn isn;t quite flat and actually slopes slightly away from the southern sun? And maybe the difference isn;t in the melting rate at all? Winds may have deposited more snow on your lawn, but I'd imagine it wouldn;t happen that way every time.
dbarron
11 years ago
It's obvious...he has a heated lawn!
dchall_san_antonio
11 years ago
Wind! I forgot about how wind can affect snow accumulation. Mammoth Mountain in Calif can accumulate 40 feet of snow in a 3-inch storm because the wind blows it up from the valley below.
Heather Light
5 years ago
Our lawn is green shortly after a snowfall. Two neighbours on the side and one in the back still have complete snow coverage. Apparently fill was brought in before we bought the place to level the backyard. I was thinking it is always green because of the nature of the fill; not sure what was in it but maybe it is a factor. No other "green" lawns in the whole neighbourhood.
User
5 years ago
Oh, sure, if it had more in the way of resources than your neighbors'. I've tested and tuned my soil which is why my grass is green in February.

Or would be if it weren't buried under a freak winter's three feet of snow, that is. With another four inches tonight and more over the weekend...