snowmelt

English

Alternative forms

• snow melt

Etymology

From snow +‎ melt.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈsnoʊˌmɛlt/

Noun

snowmelt (usually uncountable, plural snowmelts)

1. Runoff from melting snow.

   The snowmelt causes the river to flood.

   • 2001, Jonathan Franzen, The Corrections:

     Outside, a wind from the south had picked up, a thawing wind that quickened the patter of snowmelt on the back patio.

   • 2023 August 6, Daniel Duane, “It’s August. Californians Are Still Skiing. Don’t Ask.”, in The New York Times‎:

     Los Angeles would still be a piddling little town in a desert if it weren’t for Sierra snowmelt and city officials crafty enough to snooker eastern California farmers out of their water rights.

See also

• thaw (noun)