If one is inclined to think about such things, one might wonder where 19 inches of snow and 2 inches of rain all goes once the snow is melted. Glad you asked. If the ground isn't frozen, a certain amount is absorbed into the soil, creating mud as pictured (my heel-print is roughly 2 inches deep). When the ground is saturated or frozen, the rest runs downhill until it finds a body of water large enough to absorb it. Along the way it can clog streams and rivers, storm drains and sewers, and collect in low-lying areas of roads or in basements.