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Ask Dr. Universe water cycle

Where does all the snow go after winter? – Bobo, 7, Washington state

Dear Bobo,

There’s nothing more magical than sparkly flakes gently falling on a fluffy blanket of snow. But it’s a temporary kind of magic. When it warms up, the snow disappears.

I asked my friend Jennifer Adam what’s going on. She’s a water scientist at Washington State University.

She told me snow is frozen water. When temperatures rise, it melts. The solid frozen water turns back into liquid water.

That melted-snow water works just like rain water. It soaks into the ground. It fills up the spaces between bits of underground soil and rock. That’s the water that plants slurp up with their … » More …

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