They can be designed to spread snow across a large area or to confine it to a small storage area. These factors contribute to the function of the barrier and determine the snow storage capacity for a specific site. Figure 1 illustrates a variety of snow fence designs. Height Barrier height is measured by the tallest row in a planting. Barrier height affects snowdrift depth and length.
Height depends on the species planted in conjunction with soils and climate in the planting area.
Snow storage capacity can be manipulated by barrier height. Fetch is the open, unimpeded distance contributing blowing snow to a downwind location. Some snow will evaporate as it is blown around, with more than half of the relocated snow evaporating over a transport distance of about two miles. Snow fence height and snow storage capacity. Doubling the snow fence height quadruples the amount of snow stored.