SNOWPACK PREDICTION CONTEST: NIWOT RIDGE
Can your classroom accurately predict the amount of snow that we will have in the mountains above Boulder Colorado this year? How about the snow/water equivalent? Send SnowSchool your prediction and you could win a prize for your entire classroom! The closest class wins the prize!! Winners will be announced in the spring.
Send your snow depth and snow/water equivalent prediction to SnowSchool by clicking here!
Questions? Email – kmcclay@winterwildlands.org
Specifically, SnowSchool wants to know your prediction for the greatest snow depth measurement and the greatest snow/water equivalent measurement during the course of the entire winter. One prediction (snow and water) per class please (this should be two numbers both in inches).
Example: Prediction for Ms. Smith’s Class- 50 inch snow depth, 14.1 inch snow/water equivalent
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!
The above graph is from the Snotel Station at the Long-Term Ecological Research Site on Niwot Ridge. Click here to view a full page image of the graph.
Predictions from SnowSchool program participants will be posted below.
Click here to submit your prediction.
To view the webpage for the LTER Niwot Ridge C1 Meteorological Station click the picture below (you will also need to click “view station information”):
Click to explore the interactive map of weather stations in the CO Front Range!
View the interactive TundraCam at Niwot Ridge! (1,500 ft higher than the C1 Station)
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 Colorado. If we have less snow than normal, we could have less water available for people to use. As part of the Long-Term Ecological Research happening at Niwot Ridge, scientists have been keeping track of information about the snowpack since 1981! 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), and any data you collected during your SnowSchool field trip. To help with your predictions we’ve compiled 35 years of snowpack data below:
A closer look! – Winters 2009 through 2017
Winters 2000-2009
Winters 1990-1999
Winters 1981-1990
Winter Wildlands Alliance is a national nonprofit organization promoting and
preserving winter wildlands and a quality human-powered snowsports
experience on public lands.
