General Question  ChocolateReigns's avatar  Why does the snow
melt first around the trees?  Asked by ChocolateReigns (5599
points ) March 6th, 2010  Up here in mideastern MN, we’re having
a warm stretch and the snow is melting. We have quite a few
trees in our yard, and there are big circles around the bases of
the trees. I googled it, and there was a question on Y!A that
got answered as “trees release heat”. That was the only answer.
Needless to say, it didn’t help. I’m not the first one to notice
this, am I? Does anyone know why this is?  Observing members: 0
Composing members: 0  14 Answers  bhec10's avatar  Maybe there
could be melted ice/snow (water) running down the tree, making
that circle?  dpworkin's avatar  This is sap season, when huge
volumes of fluid are being moved from the earth through the
trunk and branches of the trees.  stranger_in_a_strange_land's
avatar  The sap rising up from the root zone is significantly
warmer than the ambient air temperature. This causes snow melt
around the trunk.