Articles | Volume 13, issue 7
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-1767-2019
© Author(s) 2019. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-1767-2019
© Author(s) 2019. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| Highlight paper
| 
04 Jul 2019
Research article | Highlight paper |
| 04 Jul 2019
| 04 Jul 2019
Converting snow depth to snow water equivalent using climatological variables
David F. Hill
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Civil and Construction Engineering, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA
Elizabeth A. Burakowski
Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, USA
Ryan L. Crumley
Water Resources Graduate Program, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA
Julia Keon
Civil and Construction Engineering, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA
J. Michelle Hu
Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
Anthony A. Arendt
Applied Physics Laboratory, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
Katreen Wikstrom Jones
Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys, Fairbanks, AK, USA
Gabriel J. Wolken
Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys, Fairbanks, AK, USA
International Arctic Research Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK, USA
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39 citations as recorded by crossref.
- Hydrologic implications of projected changes in rain-on-snow melt for Great Lakes Basin watersheds D. Myers et al. 10.5194/hess-27-1755-2023
- Creating a Universal Depth-to-Load Conversion Technique for the Conterminous United States Using Random Forests J. Wheeler et al. 10.1061/(ASCE)CR.1943-5495.0000270
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- Warmer Winters Drive Declines in Snowpack and Consequent Increases in Annual and Seasonal Runoff in a Headwater Region of the Northeastern United States K. Hale et al. 10.1002/hyp.70092
- Snow Level From Post‐Processing of Atmospheric Model Improves Snowfall Estimate and Snowpack Prediction in Mountains V. Vionnet et al. 10.1029/2021WR031778
- Spatio‐temporal analysis of snow depth and snow water equivalent in a mountainous catchment: Insights from in‐situ observations and statistical modelling T. Çitgez et al. 10.1002/hyp.15260
- Analyzing Groundwater Recharge and Vadose Zone Dynamics by Combining Soil Moisture and Groundwater Level Data with a Numerical Model in Subarctic Conditions M. Tähtikarhu & J. Okkonen 10.1061/JHYEFF.HEENG-5842
- GEMS v1.0: Generalizable Empirical Model of Snow Accumulation and Melt, based on daily snow mass changes in response to climate and topographic drivers A. Umirbekov et al. 10.5194/gmd-17-911-2024
- Six Consecutive Seasons of High‐Resolution Mountain Snow Depth Maps From Satellite Stereo Imagery J. Hu et al. 10.1029/2023GL104871
- Adaptive Mapping of Design Ground Snow Loads in the Conterminous United States J. Wagstaff et al. 10.1061/JSENDH.STENG-12396
- The Value of Long‐Term (40 years) Airborne Gamma Radiation SWE Record for Evaluating Three Observation‐Based Gridded SWE Data Sets by Seasonal Snow and Land Cover Classifications E. Cho et al. 10.1029/2019WR025813
- Uncertainties in measuring and estimating water‐budget components: Current state of the science S. Levin et al. 10.1002/wat2.1646
- Continuous and autonomous snow water equivalent measurements by a cosmic ray sensor on an alpine glacier R. Gugerli et al. 10.5194/tc-13-3413-2019
- Canadian historical Snow Water Equivalent dataset (CanSWE, 1928–2020) V. Vionnet et al. 10.5194/essd-13-4603-2021
- Snow Depth Trends from CMIP6 Models Conflict with Observational Evidence X. Zhong et al. 10.1175/JCLI-D-21-0177.1
- Crowdsourced Data Highlight Precipitation Phase Partitioning Variability in Rain‐Snow Transition Zone K. Jennings et al. 10.1029/2022EA002714
- Spatially distributed snow depth, bulk density, and snow water equivalent from ground-based and airborne sensor integration at Grand Mesa, Colorado, USA T. Meehan et al. 10.5194/tc-18-3253-2024
- Retrieval of Spatial and Temporal Variability in Snowpack Depth over Glaciers in Svalbard Using GPR and Spaceborne POLSAR Measurements G. Singh et al. 10.3390/w12010021
- Modelling snowpack bulk density using snow depth, cumulative degree‐days, and climatological predictor variables A. Szeitz & R. Moore 10.1002/hyp.14800
- A zero-inflated spatiotemporal analysis for snowpack variations and influence of environmental factors in the Northern Hemisphere J. Yang et al. 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2022.128760
- Multi-temporal analysis of morphological changes in an Alpine proglacial area and their effect on sediment transfer S. Savi et al. 10.1016/j.catena.2022.106701
- Snow cover accumulation and melting measurements taken using new automated loggers at three study locations O. Špulák et al. 10.1016/j.agrformet.2020.107914
- Incorporating rain-on-snow into the SWAT model results in more accurate simulations of hydrologic extremes D. Myers et al. 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2021.126972
- Pronounced increase in slope instability linked to global warming: A case study from the eastern European Alps S. Savi et al. 10.1002/esp.5100
- Estimating Ground Snow Load Based on Ground Snow Depth and Climatological Elements for Snow Hazard Assessment in Northeastern China H. Mo et al. 10.1007/s13753-022-00443-0
- Estimating snow water equivalent using observed snow depth data in China Z. Yang et al. 10.1016/j.ejrh.2024.101664
- Assessing Highway Bridge Chloride Exposure at a Provincial Scale: Mapping and Projecting Impacts of Climate Change M. Xu et al. 10.1061/JBENF2.BEENG-6669
- Leveraging advanced deep learning and machine learning approaches for snow depth prediction using remote sensing and ground data H. Elyoussfi et al. 10.1016/j.ejrh.2024.102085
- Snow water equivalents exclusively from snow depths and their temporal changes: the Δsnow model M. Winkler et al. 10.5194/hess-25-1165-2021
- Estimating snow density, depth, volume, and snow water equivalent with InSAR data in the Erciyes mountain/Turkey A. TORUN & S. EKERCİN 10.1007/s12517-021-07873-y
- Assimilation of citizen science data in snowpack modeling using a new snow data set: Community Snow Observations R. Crumley et al. 10.5194/hess-25-4651-2021
- Evaluating methods to estimate the water equivalent of new snow from daily snow depth recordings J. Magnusson et al. 10.1016/j.coldregions.2025.104435
- Snowpack affects soil microclimate throughout the year G. Wilson et al. 10.1007/s10584-020-02943-8
- Leveraging regional mesh refinement to simulate future climate projections for California using the Simplified Convection-Permitting E3SM Atmosphere Model Version 0 J. Zhang et al. 10.5194/gmd-17-3687-2024
- Long-term trend of snow water equivalent in the Italian Alps N. Colombo et al. 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2022.128532
- Late Pleistocene glaciers to present-day snowpatches: a review and research recommendations for the Marrakech High Atlas P. Hughes et al. 10.1007/s42990-020-00027-4
- NH-SWE: Northern Hemisphere Snow Water Equivalent dataset based on in situ snow depth time series A. Fontrodona-Bach et al. 10.5194/essd-15-2577-2023
- Toward Snow Cover Estimation in Mountainous Areas Using Modern Data Assimilation Methods: A Review C. Largeron et al. 10.3389/feart.2020.00325
- Quantifying weather-induced unreliable public transportation service in cold regions under future climate model scenarios X. Tian et al. 10.1016/j.scs.2024.105660
Latest update: 30 May 2025
Short summary
We present a new statistical model for converting snow depths to water equivalent. The only variables required are snow depth, day of year, and location. We use the location to look up climatological parameters such as mean winter precipitation and mean temperature difference (difference between hottest month and coldest month). The model is simple by design so that it can be applied to depth measurements anywhere, anytime. The model is shown to perform better than other widely used approaches.
We present a new statistical model for converting snow depths to water equivalent. The only...
