Abstract:The snow-to-liquid ratio (SLR) is the ratio of the depth of snow to the depth of liquid water contained in that snow (if it were to be melted), which is used for calculating snow depth. There are two types of snowfall with different mechanisms in Shandong. The ocean-effect snow mainly occurs in the northern coastal areas of Shandong Peninsula, while the other type can occur over the whole province, and there are remarkable differences in their SLR. Based on the data of 12-h precipitation, daily snow depth, precipitation type, and daily maximum temperature from 122 national meteorological stations in Shandong from their establishment to December 2018 and MICAPS synoptic charts from 1999 to 2018, this study statistically analyzes climatic characteristics of SLR in different areas of Shandong, providing reference for forecasting snow depth. To eliminate errors, some quantitative calculation rules are brought forward. The results are as follows. 1) The SLR in Shandong ranges between 0.1 cm·mm-1 and 3.0 cm·mm-1 (mainly between 0.3 cm·mm-1 and 1.1 cm·mm-1) and the average value over many years is 0.9 cm·mm-1 in most areas; in the northern coastal areas of Shandong Peninsula (areas of heavy ocean-effect snow), the SLR is mainly between 0.9 cm·mm-1 and 2.0 cm·mm-1 and the average value over many years is 1.3 cm·mm-1. 2) SLR is relevant to grade of snow with obvious monthly variation. SLR decreases with the grade of snow rising from moderate snow to snowstorm for most areas of Shandong; the monthly maximum SLR of each grade of snow appears in January or December, while the minimum appears in November or February; in the northern coastal areas of Shandong Peninsula, SLR presents more complicated characteristics in that SLRs of moderate snow, heavy snow, and snowstorm are roughly equivalent from November to the next January when ocean-effect snow prevails, while SLR shows similar characteristics as in other areas in February and March when ocean-effect is not that obvious. 3) SLRs of snowstorms produced by different synoptic systems exhibit diversity. SLR of snowstorm produced by Changjiang-Huaihe cyclone is higher (lower) in the northern (southern) areas and mountainous (coastal) areas as a whole, the process-averaged value is 0.69 cm·mm-1, and the median SLRs of moderate snow, heavy snow, and snowstorm are 0.8 cm·mm-1, 0.7 cm·mm-1, and 0.5 cm·mm-1, respectively; the average SLR of backflow snowstorm in the whole province is 0.67 cm·mm-1, and the median SLRs of moderate snow, heavy snow, and snowstorm are 0.8 cm·mm-1, 0.6 cm·mm-1, and 0.6 cm·mm-1, respectively; SLR of ocean-effect snowstorm, whose median value ranges between 1.1 cm·mm-1 and 1.6 cm·mm-1, is remarkably higher than that of the other two types of snowstorms mentioned above, and the median SLRs of moderate snow, heavy snow, and snowstorm are 1.4 cm·mm-1, 1.6 cm·mm-1, and 1.3 cm·mm-1, respectively.