According to the National Weather Service, a snowstorm is not considered a blizzard unless the following conditions exist for at least 3 hours:
- a large amount of snowfall
- strong winds of at least 35 mph
- visibility of a quarter mile or less
Yippee! No school today! It’s an official blizzard! You look out your bedroom window and all you can see is the cold white stuff blowing in all directions. The weather forecaster has just announced that the snow is falling at a rate of 3 inches per hour. It is 8:00 a.m. right now. There are exactly 3 inches of snow on the ground. Because the temperature is 35 degrees outside, the snow is melting at a rate of 1/10 of an inch (0.1 inches) every 20 minutes.
Assuming the temperature remains at 35 degrees and the snow continues to fall at the rate of 3 inches per hour, how much snow will be on the ground at 2:00 p.m.?