Accumalated snowfall website

Someone told me last week that Mt. Baker has gotten 450 inches of snow so far this winter and that they are on track to beat the record set in 1988-89. Does anyone know a website to verify this info? Thanks.

I found part of your answer at the Mt.Baker Ski Area site www.mtbaker.us/info_stats.php
btw 1998-99 was the record snow year. I remember it very well. Baker had close to 900" by the end of January/99; roughly twice the 450" given for this season.

January has been a very average month. It most likely will be an above average year, but I don't think it will come close to '99. I think Feb in '99 averaged 11" a day at baker if my memory serves me right.

Whoops, thanks for the correction Telemon. According to this page January was the biggest month that year with 303". Now we just need to find the data for this year.

Whoops, thanks for the correction Telemon. According to this page January was the biggest month that year with 303". Now we just need to find the data for this year.

Dang, looks like my memory failed me again.....

Ya know, I think Mt. Hood might have had at least as much as Baker in Dec.

I don't want to start a fight or anything, but looking back at matt's blog from the meadows GM he had a 'informal' tally of 258" between 12/15 and 1/14.

I just went and looked at the telemetry here on TAY and holy crap theres some big numbers! Hurricane ridge has 244" settled, though maybe thats average for there?

It would be cool to have stats for total snowfall, maybe Amar, our resident god of snow and computers could write up some code to add up each daily total and keep a tally. You listening out there Amar?

Thanks for this thread! I have e-mailed Mt. Baker Ski Area about the stats of 1998-99 because they are wrong. They have the #'s right, but the months are not correct. February was the biggest month that year, with the 303". It seems that the monthly totals should be shifted down, with 30" ending in May/June. I know for a fact that Sept./Oct. did not get 178", because I was skiing on Ptarmigan Ridge on Nov. 11th that year with very little new snow and living in my 2wd van on a 3800' logging road in the area up until the accumulation started. Baker opened on Nov. 22nd that year and I skied many, many days of the biggest winter I will see in my lifetime. A memory I don't want to forget, but I want it remembered right, damn it! Maybe Amar can back me up on monthly snow totals.

Thanks for this thread! I have e-mailed Mt. Baker Ski Area about the stats of 1998-99 because they are wrong. They have the #'s right, but the months are not correct. February was the biggest month that year, with the 303". It seems that the monthly totals should be shifted down

I was thinking the same thing as I read the monthly review.

Thanks for this thread! I have e-mailed Mt. Baker Ski Area about the stats of 1998-99 because they are wrong. They have the #'s right, but the months are not correct. February was the biggest month that year, with the 303". It seems that the monthly totals should be shifted down, with 30" ending in May/June. I know for a fact that Sept./Oct. did not get 178", because I was skiing on Ptarmigan Ridge on Nov. 11th that year with very little new snow and living in my 2wd van on a 3800' logging road in the area up until the accumulation started. Baker opened on Nov. 22nd that year and I skied many, many days of the biggest winter I will see in my lifetime. A memory I don't want to forget, but I want it remembered right, damn it! Maybe Amar can back me up on monthly snow totals.

That makes much more sense because Snoqualmie's biggest month in '99 was Feb (more then double average)....ok, maybe my memory is not so bad after all?

Ya know, I think Mt. Hood might have had at least as much as Baker in Dec.

I don't want to start a fight or anything, but looking back at matt's blog from the meadows GM he had a 'informal' tally of 258" between 12/15 and 1/14.

I just went and looked at the telemetry here on TAY and holy crap theres some big numbers! Hurricane ridge has 244" settled, though maybe thats average for there?

It would be cool to have stats for total snowfall, maybe Amar, our resident god of snow and computers could write up some code to add up each daily total and keep a tally. You listening out there Amar?

As to the 244" at Hurricane Ridge, that is not an accurate number. If you look at the hourly totals surrounding the two hours that say 244, they are much lower. Sometimes the "laser" that gauges the depths is off due to tree branches, animals, etc. You'll also notice on telemetry that often you will see a steady progression of 24 hour snowfall (i.e 1-2-3-4...) , with an oddball number in the middle. Same deal.

First of all, there's been a lot of talk (i.e. news stories, in print and on TV) about our supposed record-breaking or near-record snowfall this winter, but that is just a bunch of hype and baloney, unsupported by real facts or hard numbers. The lesson, as usual, is: Be careful what you believe! Sure, this season is well-above-average now, but it's not even close to exceeding the records from 1998-99, or other huge seasons such as 1971-72 or 73-74. And it won't be, not unless we start getting a LOT more snow . . . like averaging 10" per day, every day, for the next two months. Possible, but not very probable, and really it's highly unlikely.

The roughly 450" this year at Baker Ski Area doesn't come close to matching the 585" they had as of the end of January in 1998-99, which was followed by an extraordinary February dropping 303" more. This year is not even a match for 2005-6, which was a very good but not-even-close-to-record year in WA. But January 2006 was a HUGE month, with 271" at Baker (their 2nd-most ever for a month behind Feb 1999) bringing the season total to about 514" by February 1, 2006.

Having 450+" by this time of year is not uncommon for Mt Baker Ski Area, since the average snowfall through Feb 1 is over 360" at that site. Even last year 2006-7 had 462", with 447" in 2003-4, 478" in 2001-2, and 492" in 1999-2000. So 450+" is very common and not at all close to record territory.

The numbers for 1998-99 listed at www.mtbaker.us/info_stats.php are definitely offset by a month. The correct (or at least officially approved) numbers for 1998-99 are found in The National Climate Extremes Committee’s Evaluation of the Reported 1,140-Inch National 1998–99 Seasonal Snowfall Record at the Mount Baker, Washington, Ski Area: www.easternsnow.org/proceedings/2000/leffler.pdf  By the way, lots of other interesting papers can be found in www.easternsnow.org/proceedings.html

I just went and looked at the telemetry here on TAY and holy crap theres some big numbers! Hurricane ridge has 244" settled, though maybe thats average for there?

It would be cool to have stats for total snowfall, maybe Amar, our resident god of snow and computers could write up some code to add up each daily total and keep a tally. You listening out there Amar?

(Thanks for the kind words, Snodger.)
In years past (e.g. 2004-2006), I did maintain a daily updated calculation of the current snowfall total at Mt Baker Ski Area and 8-10 other important sites (along with twice-a-month snowdepth data and reports for 40+ sites), but I haven't been able to keep up with the snowfall data the last couple of seasons. It requires a huge amount of time and effort (a few hours per day), which is really wasted time and effort in the long run. Unfortunately, there is no accurate or reliable way to add up snowfall totals from the NWAC telemetry (or from ski area daily reports) in an automated, computerized manner. There are just too many data glitches and anomalies (e.g. ski area personnel not cleaning off the 24-hour snow gauge, etc.) which need human attention in order to remove or fix or estimate the correct value. Any automated code would just spit out a highly suspect or erroneous total.

I do have the raw NWAC data for this season since Nov 1, along with most of the daily Mt Baker Ski Area snow reports (needed for cross-checking the telemetry). Maybe I'll try to add up the Mt Baker numbers tonight or tomorrow . . .

<<< three hours later >>>

Well, here are my calculated totals for Mt Baker Ski Area:

Oct 2007:  20+" (but missing most data for Sept/Oct)
Nov 2007:  59"
Dec 2007: 215"
Jan 2008: 146" through Jan 29

Total:   440+" through Jan 29, with 147" snow depth
(so probably 450+" including the missing Sept/Oct data)

For comparison, here are some other important PNW sites, as of January 29, 2008:
(All snowfall data are those reported on the ski area websites or national park phone info lines.)

Whistler: 263" snowfall, 90" snow depth
Stevens Pass: 288" snowfall, 105" snow depth
Crystal Mtn: 281" snowfall, 91" snow depth
Mt Rainier Paradise: 392" snowfall, 154" snow depth
Mt Hood Timberline: 416" snowfall, 149" snow depth
Mt Hood Meadows: 478" snowfall, 148" snow depth
Mt Bachelor: 297" snowfall, 123" snow depth
Crater Lake: 311" snowfall, 112" snow depth

The most anomalous number is the huge snowfall this season at Meadows, exceeding that at the normally-much-snowier Timberline, Paradise, and Baker sites. But the telemetry has repeatedly shown greater snowfall this season at Meadows than Timberline in storm after storm, so their snowfall numbers are credible.

As to the 244" at Hurricane Ridge, that is not an accurate number. If you look at the hourly totals surrounding the two hours that say 244, they are much lower. Sometimes the "laser" that gauges the depths is off due to tree branches, animals, etc. You'll also notice on telemetry that often you will see a steady progression of 24 hour snowfall (i.e 1-2-3-4...) , with an oddball number in the middle. Same deal.

There's no 'laser", the snow depth gauge uses ultrasonic sound waves reflected off the snow surface from a downward pointing transducer (see www.id.nrcs.usda.gov/snow/recreation/depth_faq.html, the sensors at NRCS and NWAC sites are basically identical). The 244" at Hurricane Ridge is probably the height of the ultrasonic snow depth sensor above the ground. If the sensor becomes encrusted with snow/ice/rime, then it shows this incorrect number, because it appears to the sensor that the snow has piled all the way up to reach it.

But all the snow depth data at that site is invalid and nearly useless, as the caveat in the NWAC file header warns that the "Wind exposed site results in low prec. measurements and drifts under the snow sensor." The official Olympic NP report today (360-565-3131) gives a snowdepth of only 106" at Hurricane Ridge, far less than the 165-179" values on the NWAC telemetry. There may now be 179" of snow under that snow depth sensor, but it is not representative of the general snow depth in the vicinity.

Wow! Awesome work Amar. Thanks for the update.

(Thanks for the kind words, Snodger.)

No need for thanking me Amar, I want to thank you for your site and all the work you've put into it. It was definitely a catalyst for getting me more into our sport and has inspired many trips. so thanks alot!

Roger

Chinook Pass has been racking it up this year too and looks to have about 170" on the ground this am.

I should mention that when I have e-mailed Mt. Baker ski area about the incorrect monthly stats for 98-99 I have had no replies. I have e-mailed 3 times over the past few years and then gave up. Maybe a few more e-mails from others will get them to make it right...