Brief Communication: Early season snowpack loss and implications for oversnow vehicle recreation travel planning

Hatchett, Benjamin J.; Eisen, Hilary G.

doi:https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-21-2019

Articles | Volume 13, issue 1

https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-21-2019

© Author(s) 2019. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-21-2019

© Author(s) 2019. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 13, issue 1

Brief communication

|

03 Jan 2019

Brief communication |

| 03 Jan 2019

Brief Communication: Early season snowpack loss and implications for oversnow vehicle recreation travel planning

Benjamin J. Hatchett and Hilary G. Eisen

Data sets

SNOTEL Historic Data United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service https://wcc.sc.egov.usda.gov/nwcc/tabget

Short summary

We examine the timing of early season snowpack relevant to oversnow vehicle (OSV) recreation over the past 3 decades in the Lake Tahoe region (USA). Data from two independent data sources suggest that the timing of achieving sufficient snowpack has shifted later by 2 weeks. Increasing rainfall and more dry days play a role in the later onset. Adaptation strategies are provided for winter travel management planning to address negative impacts of loss of early season snowpack for OSV usage.