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4 - Ground-based snowfall and snowpack measurements

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 August 2009

David R. DeWalle  and
Albert Rango
David R. DeWalle
Affiliation:
Pennsylvania State University
Albert Rango
Affiliation:
New Mexico State University
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Summary

Measurement of snow at time of fall

Precipitation gauges

Several complications arise when using precipitation gauges to measure snowfall that are not as much of a problem when measuring rainfall. Gauge catch losses are more severe for snow than rain, so that precipitation gauge shields are much more of a necessity. Additionally, subfreezing temperatures during winter, and usually during a snowfall event, dictate that an antifreeze solution be used to prevent collected water from freezing (an evaporation suppressant might be necessary to minimize evaporative losses); and, to insure that bridging of snow over the gauge orifice does not happen, the gauge is sometimes heated. The positioning of the snow-precipitation gauge on the landscape must also be considered in order to get a more representative catch of snowfall.

Nonrecording gauges

There are two classes of nonrecording gauges, those read on a daily or more frequent basis and storage gauges that are read only after a period of time has elapsed, like once a month or once a season. A subtype of the daily nonrecording gauge is the gauge that is only read after a snowfall event has been observed. If a gauge is to be read on a 6- or 24-hour interval, antifreeze, orifice heating, and evaporation suppressants are not as critical as for a storage gauge. For those nonrecording gauges, the funnel and collection tube, used for rainfall events, are removed from the gauge and snow falls directly into the outside container.

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Principles of Snow Hydrology , pp. 76 - 117
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2008

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