Meaning & use
snowfall
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
An occasion when snow falls from the sky.
Grammar: Countable: you can say 'a snowfall' or 'snowfalls'.
Patterns
- a heavy snowfall
- a light snowfall
The first snowfall of the season covered the garden.
We had three snowfalls last week.
noununcountable
The total amount of snow that falls in a particular place over a period of time.
Grammar: Uncountable: used with amounts, e.g. '50 cm of snowfall'.
Patterns
- annual snowfall
- average snowfall
- inches of snowfall
The city receives an average snowfall of 120 cm each winter.
This year's snowfall was the heaviest in a decade.
Word forms
| plural | snowfalls |
|---|
Common combinations
- heavy snowfall
- Heavy snowfall caused delays at the airport.
- light snowfall
- A light snowfall dusted the streets overnight.
- annual snowfall
- The annual snowfall in this region is about 200 inches.
- record snowfall
- The storm brought record snowfall to the mountains.
Synonyms and how they differ
- snow
- The general word for frozen water vapor; snowfall specifically refers to an event or amount of falling snow.
- snowstorm
- A snowstorm is a storm with strong winds and heavy snow; snowfall can be gentle and does not imply a storm.
Word family
Commonly confused: snowfall or rainfall?
snowfall vs rainfall
Rainfall refers to rain, not snow; both measure precipitation but differ in type.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'snowfall' correctly?
Choose one answer.
Snowfall refers to snow falling or the amount of snow; it can be deep. The other options confuse it with rain, use it as a verb, or make no sense.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “snowfall”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.