Seasonal variation

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Several studies have shown that the mean value of the melt factor varies seasonally.
This seasonal variation in the melt factor is mainly due to an increase, as the snow season progresses, in the amount of solar radiation absorbed by the snow cover per degree of the temperature difference.

This increase in the rate that solar energy is supplied to the snow cover is partly due to the increase in the amount of incoming solar radiation and partly due to a decrease in the albedo of the snow cover.
Seasonal variations in other meterological variables like the vapor pressure of the air, wind speed, and cloud cover also influence the seasonal variation of the melt factor.
Since the variation in solar energy has a dominant effect on the seasonal variability of the melt factor, the seasonal change in the melt factor is more pronounced in regions where solar radiation dominates the energy transfer process during snowmelt.