Dear Authors,
you have addressed some of the reviewers comments satisfactorily, but we need you to further address comments from the reviewers that you put the results in context of other studies and also geographically across the Prairies before this paper can be accepted. Lack of considering this prior research also raises questions on the novelty of this research and the validity of its conclusions. For instance, you missed the comprehensive paper by MacDonald et al. (2008) http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2017.10.025 that described the turbulent fluxes and soil moisture changes in detail during chinook snowmelt events at several sites in Alberta. You also missed the paper by Fang and Pomeroy (Hydrological Processes DOI: 10.1002/hyp.7074, 2008) examining snowmelt runoff to prairie wetlands and the role of several hydrological processes in governing this runoff that are directly relevant to your study. For instance, you did not correct for wind undercatch on your snowfall gauges and then claim that there was no blowing snow erosion at your site as you could close the mass balance. This is not credible as blowing snow events are well known in your research area Pomeroy and Li (JGR, 2000) as are substantial undercatch issues for snowfall gauges (Pomeroy and Goodison, {surface climates of Canada} 1997). By using corrected snowfall for wind undercatch you may find that your mass balance no longer can be closed and so you may wish to reconsider your conclusions regarding snow redistribution losses. Fang and Pomeroy (Hydrological Processes, DOI: 10.1002/hyp.73482009) discuss these in the context of snowmelt runoff to prairie depressions.
Importantly, I would like you to further discuss the role of midwinter melt events in creating ice layers in the soil (or at the base of the snowpack) that cause "restricted" infiltration - this would increase runoff, not decrease it and potentially invalidate your conclusions. Did you consider this in your calculations and did you observe formation of these ice or saturated frozen layers? In particular, you should relate the research findings to the findings of Fang and Pomeroy (2007) Snowmelt runoff sensitivity analysis to drought on the Canadian prairies, Hydrological Processes, DOI: 10.1002/hyp.6796 which specifically examined the impact of varying meteorological conditions on snowmelt runoff over frozen soils in a chinook-prone part of the Prairies and examined a climate change scenario for warmer and wetter winters.
I found this paper an interesting read and am hopeful that the authors can make it stronger through consideration of the above comments.
Regards
John Pomeroy