The people from all walks of life rejoice the first snowfall of the season. The tourists spring out of their beds after having taken the bed-tea or whenever the snowflakes start pouring down from the sky. It is an life time experience to watch snowflakes falling from the heaven. It is a fun day too for them. They walk on the fluffy snow blanket on the paths and other areas. They throw snow balls on each other or on passersby. Snow sportspersons get ready for their hot-spots during the chilly winters.

The other hand, the orchadists, who were upset over the long dry spell, were a happy lot, since their temperate fruit plants may get the desired chilling hours for good bearing of fruits. For normal peasants, the snow or the downpour is savior of their withering crops.

Snow actually has several benefits for the health of the living beings (including flora and fauna) and the hydrology of the perennial river system. The snow is a “blessed-thing” of nature in the hills and the mountains. The snow is much needed in the present times, when the “Global Warming” has touched an alarming situation and as a result glaciers have started melting fast.

The whiteness of the snow cover gives soothing effect on the minds of people, generating pleasant feeling. For the health of the human beings, the snow brings required humidity in the atmosphere, which wards of the ailments caused due to the dry weather, particularly affecting the nasopharyngeal and bronchial system of the body. Dry-winters cause such problems in human beings and animals.

Snow on the mountains is an essential gift of nature. It helps in maintaining the water cycle, which not only benefits the people living in the mountains & hills, but helps the populace living down the plains Of course, the perennial flow in the river system depending upon the glaciers is maintained by good snowfall. The waters are the lifelines of development of human civilizations. Every body knows this. As a corollary, the hydropower plants also depend on the waterways. We know that glaciers are receding day by day having bearing on the water flow in the rivers. Heavy snowfall will, of course, slow down the process of fast receding of glaciers.

One another major benefit of a good snow cover is snow functions as an excellent insulator of the soil. Without snow, very cold temperatures can freeze the soil deeper and deeper. This could lead to damage of root systems of trees and shrubs. The insulation effect of snow also helps protect perennials, bulbs, ground covers, and strawberry beds from alternating freezing and thawing cycles. Actually, some seeds and corms & bulbs do need stratification for sprouting. Snow helps this process before germination, and hence allows natural regeneration of vegetation. The soil surface froze over the past few weeks. Without snow at times, sun could warm the soil surface during hot weather conditions, leading to damage from soil heaving, which can break roots and dry out plant parts. Snow also helps conserve soil moisture over and allows slow release of water during the winters.

If one has not mulched perennial beds, with all this snow, one may not have to. If little snow were on the beds, however, this would be the time to mulch. Otherwise, straw and foliage from evergreen trees are the suitable material for mulching. Mulches could be applied over existing snow.

Of course, the heavy snowfall has some disadvantages, too. These problems are temporary and meager as compared to the benefits of snow. There could be some losses to the big trees. Heavy snowfall may uproot or break some domesticated and wild trees. However, proper training of domesticated trees help solving this problem. For the people living under the most comfortable conditions in the towns & cities the normal life may be disrupted for few hours or at times for a few days. The electricity and water supplies may fail. The road communication in the mountains may be halted.