Yet another NWAC telemetry question

Is the "24 Hour snow" column a field that is manually reset? Or is it automatically reset at a certain interval. If it is manually reset whose job is it to reset the column (is it the ski resorts or is it NWACs) and is there any normalcy as to when it's reset (last year it frequently seemed to happen around 5/6am at MHM but not always).<br><br>Thanks in advance for the response and sorry for such a trivial question. I've been wondering this for years . . .<br><br>Jeff<br><br>PS: The impetus for this question is partly that MHM's telemetry still shows 5"s in the 24 hour column. I guess I should infer from this that it is manually reset and that it's the ski resorts job to do this (since they're closed that's why it hasn't been done?).<br>

Jeff, the 24-hr snowdepth is a separate sensor from the total snowdepth. It has to be manually reset, that's why all the 24-hr sensors are located at ski areas and not at remote locations. They should normally reset it at 4-5 AM each day, but when the ski area is closed, then all bets are off. The same thing sometimes happens during periods of very heavy snowfall.<br><br>The 24-hr snowdepth gauge is quite a crude instrument, its basically a 2x2.5 ft piece of plywood with the ultrasonic snowdepth sensor mounted 4 ft above it on an L-shaped arm. It has to be manually picked up, cleaned off, and placed atop the fresh snow surface each day to reset it. If the sensor rimes up during heavy snowfall, then it will usually read that 48" offset. Similarly, the total snowdepth gauges can read about 240" or 360" if rime-covered since they're usually atop a 20 or 30 ft tower at sites in the Cascades.<br><br>See the Judd Communications website for more info, they're probably the most popular vendor for ultrasonic distance/depth sensors. Their manual ( www.juddcom.com/ds2manual.pdf ) has lots of useful info, including a nice diagram of how to build an interval snowdepth gauge. Campbell Scientific makes a similar distance/depth sensor, and their manual is also informative. <br><br>

Jeff - Amar covered your answer well. I thought I would add that it looks like someone cleared the 24 hour snowdepth at Meadows this morning. The ski area has been closed so no one has been around to clear it for awhile. If you have any other questions about our weather stations you can also email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Many thanks Amar and Garth for the response.