[Scan-DC] Idaho: "Snotel" reports temperature, snowfall, and snow accumulation.

[b_thom at juno.com]

Interesting how they get the information. I wouldn't have thought of that. No doubt someone listens to these on a scanner.
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http://www.mtexpress.com/index2.php?ID=2005129206

Record lows set at ‘Snotel’ sites

The Natural Resources Conservation Service has reported new record low temperatures at many of Idaho's "Snotel" sites. 

The snowpack telemetry sites record and transmit information daily on temperature, snowfall and snow accumulation in remote mountain locations. 
....

A typical Snotel site consists of a shelter house for the radio telemetry equipment, a precipitation gauge, a temperature sensor, a snow pillow and a total-snow-depth sensor. An antenna on the shelter transmits information and a solar panel keeps batteries charged. 

The snow pillow is a rubberized bladder filled with non-freezing solution. It lies on the ground covering a 10-foot diameter area. As snow accumulates on the pillow, the pressure it exerts on the pillow is measured as weight. Devices inside the shelter automatically convert the weight of the snow into an amount of water, or the "snow water equivalent." 

Water managers use the data for planning reservoir storage and releases, irrigation, hydropower capabilities, fish flows and river-running opportunities. Real-time snowfall data from the Internet is used by avalanche forecast centers, highway departments, backcountry skiers and snowmobilers. 

For Snotel data and products, visit the Web site at www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/snow/ or Idaho's Snow Survey Web page at www.id.nrcs.usda.gov/snow/. 


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