Click on a thumbnail to view a gallery of snowpack data from the Natural Resources Conservation Service.
From H2O Radio (Click through to read or listen to the program):
Melting snow flows into creeks and streams, and ultimately into drinking water for people living in the arid West. Since 1935, farmers and cities alike have relied on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Cooperative Snow Survey Program to predict runoff and know how much water to expect. Snow surveyors from Natural Resources Conservation Service and the other cooperating agencies collect data from thousands of snow survey sites several times each winter.
In 1977, NRCS began developing a network of automated radio telemetry data sites for collecting snow survey data, but some information is still collected manually involving long treks into remote areas, often in bad weather. We tagged along with some of these quiet heroes who, quite literally, go to great lengths to understand just how much water will come out of your tap.
Tower snotel snow depth reached 150" this morning, a gain of 16" over night.
— Art Judson (@ArtJudson) March 18, 2014