Predators may locate nests more easily on the smaller patches of snow-free ground.
The other day our road was snow-free but we couldn't move because of a 6ft grit drift.
Most of this ice and snow-free land is found along the Antarctic Peninsula, its associated islands and in coastal regions around the edge of the rest of the Antarctic continent.
By the end of the first week of June, most of the lower-elevation range was snow-free.
Temperatures in the south of England will resemble Bordeaux in France by 2080, say scientists, and most of Britain will be snow-free
The snow-free season generally extends from mid-June to early September.
Southern aspects are usually snow-free in early May, while on north- and east-facing slopes snow patches often last into early June.
Upon our arrival on 22 June 1997, conditions were very similar to those of 1995: the area was 80 % snow-free, and all remaining snow was gone within a week.
Even at higher elevations, large tracks and patches of land were snow-free, sometimes 50 % or more.
The 28-year-old Oxford graduate swept to fame after scooping bronze in the skeleton bobsleigh at the Winter Olympics - having used an adapted tea tray in the snow-free confines of Bath University to practice.
These roads, at least in the capital, are kept snow-free, allowing people here to enjoy the coldest winter in some time.
Lookout Mountain is usually snow-free from early July through mid-October.
Synonyms
clear, passable, navigable, unblocked, free from obstructions, unobstructed