Just a quick note on reading snowfall amounts on a METAR observation:
This is a recent weather observation from JFK Airport in New York City.
KJFK 192351Z 02016G24KT 1/2SM R04R/3000V4500FT SN OVC005 M03/M06 A2963 RMK AO2 PK WND 02031/2333 SLP032 SNINCR 1/2 931015 4/002 P0001 60001 T10331061 11017 21033 53002 $
SNINCR 1/2
Means 1 inch of snow in the past hour and 2 inches on the ground
4/SSS
This is the indicator of snow on the ground.
4/002
In this observations, it indicates that 2 inches of snow is on the ground.
Here is a great source for METAR observations. Go over to the text observations section on the right, enter the 4 letter station id, click the “raw” radio button, use the pull down menu to indicate how many hours you want to retrieve, and click retrieve.
