Is it just me?  Everytime, I go to an airport in the North, there is snow covering and hiding all of the  paved surfaces.  Is there a solution when using live weather?

No and no 😉

There is not a fix for it and does not sound like one will be coming according to Asobo. It was brought up in their latest stream and it has to do with the color of the pavement, lighter color will hold the snow longer than darker asphalt.  Looks like the only solution right now is to wait for summer...

It’s a real word not allowed off especially for us Canadians. 

I would recommend trying Bijan's great seasons mod.  I use it all the time.  One thing I haven't activated yet are his new scenery masks:

Season Update V6.61
December 12th, 2021

Terrain Mask Version 1.64
Increased internal mask opacity so roads and runways can stay clear of snow in these expanded areas: Canada, Alaska, Scandinavia, Japan, UK, and Mid to East part of USA.

1 hour ago, RandallR said:

I would recommend trying Bijan's great seasons mod.  I use it all the time.  One thing I haven't activated yet are his new scenery masks:

Season Update V6.61
December 12th, 2021

Terrain Mask Version 1.64
Increased internal mask opacity so roads and runways can stay clear of snow in these expanded areas: Canada, Alaska, Scandinavia, Japan, UK, and Mid to East part of USA.

I have his mod. Do I have to enable it to work ? Everything is still covered in snow. 

From the Match 23rd Q&A

Quote

 

Will snow be removed from runways of large international airports? In real life, runways are kept clear of snow. - Timestamp

Seb - Currently, snow is entirely procedural. Depending on the runway, if it is too thick, it even holds on runways. It is supposed to be like snow that has been rolled over/flattened. We have not tuned airport-by-airport: We did a global snow layer tuning and some airports have a lot more because it’s the way the runway looks. We simulated that dark surfaces receive more heat from the sun, and from the environment in general, so snow melts faster on dark surfaces. So airports with very bright runways (sometimes because it’s not tarmac but concrete) or just because the aerial is brighter, they will have more snow. So that’s something we need to rework to get runways completely without snow. I would say that’s only true on large airports. On our small airfield, when it snows, they don’t. They don’t immediately remove the snow, or even at all.

 

 

18 minutes ago, Tuskin38 said:

From the Match 23rd Q&A

 

"Will snow be removed from runways of large international airports? In real life, runways are kept clear of snow."

Shorter version:

Mostly no.

1 hour ago, fakeflyer737 said:

I have his mod. Do I have to enable it to work ? Everything is still covered in snow. 

It is part of his Terrain Mask system - this is part of his mod I haven't used yet as I currently only load the seasons with AddonsLinker.  I understand his latest version uses a separate executable from which all of this can be controlled.  Here are some comments from his readme files:

What is terrain mask?
It's an overlay color (brown or grey) which covers green terrains so they blend better with fall or winter trees. You will no longer see bright green grass or green roads and highways or green cities. Greens will be either less saturated or become shades or browns or grey; depending on the color you choose in xml file.

For general use, Mask opacity 40 to 50 is ideal.

100% mask (snow mask) is to be used in areas that are only covered with snow.

40-100 uses 100% mask opacity in Scandinavia, Alaska and Canada, and 40 for rest of the world.

New software to install masks.
Mask 40-100 in the software means it will install 100% mask in Scandinavia, Alaska and Canada. The rest of the countries will have 40% mask.
If you choose "snow mask" make sure you only fly in areas that are snow covered.

Terrain Mask Version 1.64
Increased internal mask opacity so roads and runways can stay clear of snow in these expanded areas Canada, Alaska, Scandinavia, Japan, UK, and Mid to East part of USA.

3- If you wish for runways and roads to be visible during heavy snow or live weather with snow, use 98% to 100% value in xml file. This will assure all runways and roads are always visible in any snow condition.

I was staying away from using his masks for now as I knew it was a work in progress - some have reported performance issues, some have not.  For now, this may be the only way to have some surfaces free of snow.

Well, I would fire the leader of the snow removal team at these airport.  He/she is clearly not competent.

4 hours ago, RandallR said:

It is part of his Terrain Mask system - this is part of his mod I haven't used yet as I currently only load the seasons with AddonsLinker.  I understand his latest version uses a separate executable from which all of this can be controlled.  Here are some comments from his readme files:

What is terrain mask?
It's an overlay color (brown or grey) which covers green terrains so they blend better with fall or winter trees. You will no longer see bright green grass or green roads and highways or green cities. Greens will be either less saturated or become shades or browns or grey; depending on the color you choose in xml file.

For general use, Mask opacity 40 to 50 is ideal.

100% mask (snow mask) is to be used in areas that are only covered with snow.

40-100 uses 100% mask opacity in Scandinavia, Alaska and Canada, and 40 for rest of the world.

New software to install masks.
Mask 40-100 in the software means it will install 100% mask in Scandinavia, Alaska and Canada. The rest of the countries will have 40% mask.
If you choose "snow mask" make sure you only fly in areas that are snow covered.

Terrain Mask Version 1.64
Increased internal mask opacity so roads and runways can stay clear of snow in these expanded areas Canada, Alaska, Scandinavia, Japan, UK, and Mid to East part of USA.

3- If you wish for runways and roads to be visible during heavy snow or live weather with snow, use 98% to 100% value in xml file. This will assure all runways and roads are always visible in any snow condition.

I was staying away from using his masks for now as I knew it was a work in progress - some have reported performance issues, some have not.  For now, this may be the only way to have some surfaces free of snow.

I've repeatedly tried those masks last couple of months, but they are just too ugly due to transitions and stuff. It kills immersion more than it helps.

I understand - that's also why I don't use them.  However, since the discussion was about "snow-removal", I thought I'd mention it as an option that might be workable for some.

At some point I predict we will see snowplows clearing off the taxiways and runways...but that's probably a ways off 

So is it the case that runways are not actually designated as runways? They're just, essentially, paint on the ground? Because if they're designated as runways it would seem trivial to designate them as "no procedural environmental effects here" zones.  But if they're just terrain painted tarmac-colored, then I can see where that would be quite difficult.

 

Edited April 2, 20224 yr by eslader

20 minutes ago, eslader said:

So is it the case that runways are not actually designated as runways? They're just, essentially, paint on the ground? Because if they're designated as runways it would seem trivial to designate them as "no procedural environmental effects here" zones.  But if they're just terrain painted tarmac-colored, then I can see where that would be quite difficult.

 

Seems like they can't exclude them from the snow generation, like with other terrain. There's no snow on the ocean, for example.