What is a SNOTEL site?
What is a SNOTEL site?
SNOTEL sites are the unsung heroes of weather stations for skiers and snowboarders in the western United States. SNOTEL stands for SNOpack TELemetry, which is a fancy name for a remote backcountry weather station that measures snow and transmits the data wirelessly.
What is SNOTEL data?
SNOTEL is an automated system of snowpack and related climate sensors operated by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) of the United States Department of Agriculture in the Western United States. These data are used to forecast yearly water supplies, predict floods, and for general climate research.
What does snow water equivalent mean?
SWE
Snow Water Equivalent, or SWE, is a commonly used measurement used by hydrologists and water managers to gage the amount of liquid water contained within the snowpack. In other words, it is the amount of water that will be released from the snowpack when it melts.
Which snow properties are measured at SNOTEL sites?
Most SNOTEL stations provide daily and hourly measurements of snow water equivalent, precipitation, snow depth, air temperature, and sometimes other quantities, such as wind speed, rel- ative humidity, and soil moisture. A standard SNOTEL sensor is configured with snow pillows and a precipitation gauge.
How does a snow pillow work?
A snow pillow consists of approx. 3m diameter bladders containing antifreeze solution. As snow accumulates on the pillow, the weight of the snow pushes an equal weight of the antifreeze solution from the pillow up a standpipe in the adjacent instrument house.
Is snow water safe to drink?
Answer: Drinking water made from clean white snow melt is generally considered safe because pathogens don’t usually survive in it. For the best results, pull fresh, clean-looking snow from a designated “drinking snow” area away from traffic zones, toilets, or dish pits.
Is snow just ice?
Snow is ice that falls in the form of these little crystals. When it lands, there are lots of spaces for air, so you get the fluffy, light material that we call snow. Just how fluffy depends on the sort of crystals. Updrafts can push small snowflakes up into clouds, where extra layers of ice can form on them.
How do you find a SWE?
Be sure to subtract the weight of the bag before you use the weight of the snow to calculate the snow water equivalent (SWE). Use the field scale to measure the weight of the baggie used to weight the snow sample, 2.5 grams, for example. Take the weight of the snow and the baggie and subtract the weight of the baggie.
Can you wash dishes with melted snow?
If you’re melting snow, be sure to add a little water from your water bottle to the bottom of the pot to keep the pan from scorching. Once you’ve got your two pots set up, you can wash each dish in the soapy water and then dip it in the second pan to rinse, using the rag to scrub.
Can you boil snow to wash dishes?
Melting the snow– As a rule of the thumb, do not boil snow directly into a cooking pot. Not only does this burn the pot, the water used to melt the snow may evaporate. Instead, put a little water in the boiling pot over the fire.
What is hoar ice?
Hoar frost is a type of feathery frost that forms as a result of specific climatic conditions. The word ‘hoar’ comes from old English and refers to the old age appearance of the frost: the way the ice crystals form makes it look like white hair or a beard.
