WWA-03. Snowpack Monitoring in the Rocky Mountain West: A User Guide

Abstract
In the Rocky Mountain West, snow is a dominant player in the hydrologic cycle. Across the states of Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming, 60-85% of the region’s annual streamflow originates as snowmelt. Since variation in the size of the snowpack from year to year strongly controls the magnitudes of seasonal, annual, and peak streamflows, monitoring the evolution of the snowpack over the course of the winter and spring is critical to forecasting streamflow and managing water supply. Western Water Assessment developed Snowpack Monitoring in the Rocky Mountain West: A User Guide for water managers, decision makers, forecasters, researchers, and others who use, collect, and produce snow information. The guide outlines the fundamental characteristics of the snowpack, the processes that drive its variability over time and space, and the challenges of sampling such a dynamic resource. It describes SNOTEL, snow course, and other networks of point observations, and summarizes how spatial estimates of snowpack are derived from point observations, snow models, and remote sensing. Finally, it provides practical guidance on accessing, interpreting, and applying snow data. In this poster, we provide a brief overview of the snowpack user guide and dive into some of the tools available for accessing snowpack data.