SNOWPACK PREDICTION CONTEST: MAMMOTH LAKES SNOWSCHOOL
Can your classroom accurately predict the amount of snow that we will have in the mountains around Mammoth Lakes this year? Send SnowSchool your prediction and you could win a prize for your entire classroom!
To participate first review the information below and then send your prediction to SnowSchool by clicking this link.
Questions? Contact- kmcclay@winterwildlands.org
Specifically, SnowSchool wants to know your prediction for the maximum snow water equivalent measurement over the course of the winter at the nearby Mammoth Pass weather station. You’ll see below that we’ve provided a graph with historical snow data. So look at this years graph and all the other years and come up with a prediction of your own! One prediction (snow water content) per class please (this should be one number in inches).
Example: Prediction for Ms. Smith’s Class- 50 inch snow water content
Having trouble remembering the definition of snow water equivalent? Imagine if you instantaneously melted all the snow sitting on the ground right now at the weather station- the depth of the water sitting on the ground is the snow water equivalent. Its the same thing as snow water content, and this link provides further explanation.
Once you make your prediction your class name will be added to this page below and you will be able to track and compare your prediction to the live snowpack graph as it grows (or melts) each week of the winter!
To see a live graph of current Snow Water Equivalent at the SNOTEL station at Mammoth Pass click here!
The above graph is updated daily from the weather station you visited at SnowSchool. Click here to view the Mammoth Pass weather station webpage directly.
Contest predictions will be posted below. Click here to submit your prediction.
Want to learn more about the connection between mountain snow and water?
HISTORICAL SNOWPACK DATA: Its important to keep track of snow, how much of it there is in the mountains because mountain snow is our source of water in California. If we have less snow than normal, we could have less water available for people to use. In making your prediction you will want to look at what happened in previous years (see graphs below), how much snow and snow/water equivalent we have on the ground right now (above graph), any data you collected during your SnowSchool field trip, and historical/forecasted weather. To help with your predictions we’ve created a direct link to decades of snowpack data below-
Winter Wildlands Alliance is a national nonprofit organization promoting and
preserving winter wildlands and a quality human-powered snowsports
experience on public lands.
