Drought-prone cities in the U.S. West are mapping snow by plane to refine their water forecasts.
A road winds through the snow-covered Rocky Mountains at Hoosier Pass as seen from the air, Monday, April 18, 2022, near Blue River, Colo. Some drought-prone communities in the U.S. West are mapping snow by air to refine their water forecasts. It's one way water managers are adjusting as climate change disrupts weather patterns and makes current forecasting methods less reliable.
For decades, Western U.S. states have been measuring snow through hundreds of remote sensing sites known as SNOTEL stations, which are operated by the federal Natural Resources Conservation Service. But as climate change causes rising temperatures, snow at those sites — at around 9,000 feet above sea level — is melting earlier than normal and pushing water managers to look for other ways to finetune forecasting methods.
But Miller noted the limitations of even aerial snow mapping, which can cost tens of thousands of dollars or more per flight and only provide measurements for the day flown. The technology also doesn't account for variables such as air temperature and late-season storms that can affect water supplies.On the same day the plane scans the river's headwaters, the U.S. Geological Survey is on the ground researching an option that could be more affordable, even if it's not as precise.
“That information allowed us to prepare for a second peak of runoff and accurately lower our reservoirs to capture that water and avoid any flooding impacts downstream,” said Taylor Winchell, climate adaptation strategist at Denver Water.
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