# melt\_min The variables [melt\_max](/io-docs/introduction-1/hydrology/snow.sno/melt_max.md) and *melt\_min* allow the rate of snow melt to vary through the year and account for the impact of snowpack density on snow melt. If the watershed is in the Northern Hemisphere, *melt\_min* will be the maximum melt factor. If the watershed is in the Southern Hemisphere, *melt\_min* will be the minimum melt factor. {% hint style="info" %} In rural areas, the melt factor will vary from 1.4 to 6.9 mm H2O/day-°C (Huber and Dickinson, 1988). In urban areas, values will fall in the higher end of the range due to compression of the snowpack by vehicles, pedestrians, etc. Urban snow melt studies in Sweden (Bengston, 1981; Westerstrom, 1981) reported melt factors ranging from 3.0 to 8.0 mm H2O/day-°C. Studies of snow melt on asphalt (Westerstrom, 1984) gave melt factors of 1.7 to 6.5 mm H2O/day-°C. {% endhint %} --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://swatplus.gitbook.io/io-docs/introduction-1/hydrology/snow.sno/melt_min.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.