SNOW TOTALS: Help us measure snowfall in metro Detroit; Instructions for measuring & sharing

DETROIT (WXYZ) - In order to provide the most accurate measure of snowfall throughout metro Detroit, we want your help! It's easy to properly measure snow near you and share it with us. We'll share your measurements on WXYZ.com and TV.

You can share your snow totals with us throughout the night on Twitter.

During the snowfall - and after it ends - tweet us with accurate measurements (see below) of snow totals. Be sure to include the #7FirstAlert hashtag in your tweets so we see your measurements and can give you credit.

Proper measurements of snow will be especially important because our latest metro Detroit snow forecast calls for plenty of blowing and drifting.

Measuring snow accurately sounds easy, but we ask that you follow this simple guide to measuring snow from the National Weather Service :

"Find a location where the snow appears to be near its average depth. Avoid drifts or valleys. Look for a flat, somewhat open area away from buildings and trees. Some trees in the distance may be helpful in making a wind break, preventing drifting, and thus providing for a more even distribution of the snow. Measure the depth with the snow measuring stick (aka "the common household ruler") at several locations and use an average. Traditionally ten measurements (Chris Edwards says three measurements will suffice) are made and the average value is the snow depth. When snow has fallen between observation times and has been melting, measure its greatest depth on the ground while it is snowing, or estimate the greatest depth. During heavy snowfall some of the actual total may be lost due to compaction of the column by the weight of the snow, during these times it may be best to estimate a slightly higher value if snow has been falling at a heavy rate for several hours since the last actual measurement. If all snow melted as it fell, you can estimate a total if you think more than a half of inch fell before melting, or report a trace for the snowfall."

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