Snowpack ‘Hotspots’ Better Than Basin-Wide Mapping for Predicting Water

Adding new snowpack monitoring stations at strategic locations would be better at predicting water supply in the western U.S. than basin-wide mapping — and it would be less expensive — according to a new study.

“Measuring snow in the right places can benefit forecasts more than measuring it everywhere,” said lead author Mark Raleigh, an Oregon State University snow hydrologist.