The occurrence of snow in the Seattle Tacoma area is extremely variable and usually melts before accumulating to measurable depths. There are winters on record with only a trace of snow but at the other extreme, over 21 inches has fallen in a 24 hour period.
The rabbit's sense of smell is far more developed than that of the human. Moveable folds inside the rabbit's nose assist in the detection of scent. The sense of smell in a rabbit is present at birth, allowing a newborn to find his mother's teat. Rabbits shift their noses up and down when trying to identify a scent; this is called nose blinking..
I caught a rabbit eating the flowers from a newly planted Alyssum and went to B&Q where I bought a can of Animal repellent. I sprayed this all over the plant and it worked! The rabbit didn't touch the plant after that - I haven't seen him/her again. The dog doesn't like the smell, either, if that's a problem for you.