Eli5: Why does shovelling snow feel heavier when it’s wet? Isn’t the volume of water (snow) the same?

Question

In Toronto last night there was a big storm and today the sun’s out melting everything; shovelling today’s wet snow feels much more difficult than yesterday

In: 0

Answer 1

Liquid water is more dense than ice. That’s why ice cubes and icebergs float, and when you freeze a bottle of water it can expand and crack the bottle.

Therefore the same volume of water will weigh more than the same volume of ice.

But beyond this, pure powdery snow also has alot of trapped air, so it’s lighter. Think of it like a dry sponge. When the snow melts, the water fills up the space and the same volume feels heavier because there is in fact more ice and water.