Snow on a backyard rink
Snow helps a rink before the first flood and hurts it afterward. Before, a packed layer is a base. Once there is ice, snow left on top can leave rough, pebbly ice (Toronto). This page sorts out which is which and how much snow your rink size means. The rules come from the City of Toronto's natural ice rink operating guide (October 2024), written for neighborhood rinks.
After the ice is down
- Shovel it off. Toronto says a plain plastic or vinyl push-style snow shovel is often all that is required when snow falls.
- Clean the surface before every re-flood. The guide wants it free of debris and snow. Its troubleshooting table lists too much snow on the ice, or flooding while it snows, as causes of rough pebble ice.
- Hold the flood while it snows. Wait for a later night (my reading of Toronto's table).
- Skip the coldest nights. Toronto advises against re-flooding at -23 °C (-9 °F) or colder, since the warmer water cracks the ice below.
- Use thin layers, once a day. Toronto says re-flooding should be done in thin layers, once a day, and each layer has to be frozen before the next goes on.
Before the ice: snow as a base
On a natural rink Toronto starts with 2.5 to 5 cm (1 to 2 in) of packed snow, raked smooth. It warns that flooding over 5 cm (2 in) or more of unpacked snow gives soft, lumpy ice and collapsing sections, and rapid melting in warm spells. The start guide covers the forecast side, including snow in the 48 hours before a fill.
How much snow is that
Snow volume is area times depth, so a rink holds more than most people expect. The table shows one inch of snow over the whole surface, a 4 in snowfall for scale, and the water for a thin re-flood afterward.
| Rink (ft) | Area | 1 in of snow | 4 in of snow | Re-flood at 1/16 in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 × 40 | 800 sq ft | 67 cu ft | 267 cu ft | 31 gal 6 min |
| 30 × 60 | 1,800 sq ft | 150 cu ft | 600 cu ft | 70 gal 14 min |
| 40 × 80 | 3,200 sq ft | 267 cu ft | 1,067 cu ft | 125 gal 25 min |
Level rink, no losses. Hose minutes at 5 US gallons a minute, a guess. The 1/16 in re-flood depth is my example; Toronto gives no depth. Loose fresh snow compacts as you shovel it, so the pile you build is smaller than these volumes.
Worked example, 30 by 60 ft: a 4 in snowfall is 600 cubic feet to push off a 1,800 sq ft surface, about 22 cubic yards. The re-flood afterward is small by comparison, 70 gallons at 1/16 in (my example depth), so in a snowy week the shoveling is the bigger job. The calculator opens with the same rink.
Plan where it goes before the first storm. My suggestion is a pile outside the boards, away from the liner edge, so meltwater does not run back under it. Shade or snow banked on the outside of the boards also helps in sun, as the flooding guide notes.
Related
- Rough, cracked and shale ice: causes and fixes
- Resurfacing after you clear
- A rink without a liner, where a snow base applies