High Sierra Topix

Over 200 inches of snow fall so far this season at Tuolumne Meadows.
http://www.nps.gov/yose/blogs/Update-fo ... 2-2016.htm

Wow! 200 inches is impressive. How does that compare to the average ?

Another question...200 inches fell and 67 on the ground now. That's approximately a 3:1 consolidation ratio. Is this normal ?

http://cdec.water.ca.gov/cgi-progs/queryF?DAN look at the hourly. 19.30" WC in the snow. 76" on the ground. the TES station is dead.

I don't really believe the 200" thing. I watch these stations with each storm. Doesn't jive, and it's a blog.

It is refreshing though....

Gotcha. Thanks

I used to track snowfall, too. Tuolumne Meadows is a sentimental location, so I bookmarked it. For those who don't have the links:

Tuolumne Meadows snow sensor: http://cdec.water.ca.gov/cgi-progs/staM ... ion_id=TUM

Here's the link to all the snow sites CA Dept Water Resources operates: http://cdec.water.ca.gov/misc/SnowSensors.html

Once the detail page for the snow sensor opens you have to click on the parameter you are interested in to get the data.

The Other Tom

Yes snow compacts pretty quickly. In fact when it gets really deep as in April of 83 the total depth can decrease despite significant snowfall. That year when I was living in Mammoth the Mountain received a foot of new snow but the total depth dropped a couple of inches! Also look at changes in depth and water content. Depth of snow during the winter will decrease faster than water content due to compaction. As the season progresses percentage of water in the snowpack will increase as well.

Russ

Snow typically falls at between 10 to 16 inches of snow per 1" of water. I think Mammoth got some "platinum powder" last week that was abut 18" of snow containing 1 inch of water. To get 19" inches of water in the snowpack there would probably more than 190" of snow and very likely at least 200 inches.

Eric or John Dittli correct me if I am wrong.

Mike

It's a nice theory, but I guess like anything else, it depends (on the type of snow).

Looking back at http://cdec.water.ca.gov/cgi-progs/staM ... ion_id=DAN which I look at almost every day. There were no great snowfall events other than when it hit 86" and it's holding at 19.10" WC (based on the hourly data). It's now at ~68".

Back on Jan 1 this year I snapped this photo while walking up Tioga Pass at about 8500'. Even then I had expected more snow. While it was a bluebird day, the temps were in the single digits (e.g. 4f in the morning).

oldranger wrote:The Other Tom

Yes snow compacts pretty quickly. In fact when it gets really deep as in April of 83 the total depth can decrease despite significant snowfall. That year when I was living in Mammoth the Mountain received a foot of new snow but the total depth dropped a couple of inches! Also look at changes in depth and water content. Depth of snow during the winter will decrease faster than water content due to compaction. As the season progresses percentage of water in the snowpack will increase as well.

Russ

Snow typically falls at between 10 to 16 inches of snow per 1" of water. I think Mammoth got some "platinum powder" last week that was abut 18" of snow containing 1 inch of water. To get 19" inches of water in the snowpack there would probably more than 190" of snow and very likely at least 200 inches.

Eric or John Dittli correct me if I am wrong.

Mike

On average, snow in the high Sierra falls at about 8-10% density or SWE (snow water equivalent). Of course there are times when it falls much lighter and much heavier. When we measure the entire snow pack, the densities (mid winter) are usually around 22-28%. The densities get greater (into the 30% range) toward the spring as the pack continues to settle.