A case for the Snowpocalypse

Early this January, snowpack in Montana was far below average. With only 45 percent of the season's expected snowfall on the ground, it meant that to reach the amount of snow needed for the rest of 2012, more than half of the snowfall had to fall in the coming three months. Yet, thanks to last week's storms, things are looking up.

"Leaps and bounds have been made since last week," said Brian Domonkos, Montana's Water Supply Specialist for the National Resources Conservation Service. "Statewide, we are now at 90 percent of average snowpack."

The snowpack in the western United States supplies 50 to 80 percent of the year's water supply for 13 states, Domonkos said. This includes Alaska and the states west of New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana and South Dakota. Snowpack is determined by measuring the amount of water contained in the snow.

Snowpack data is collected in two ways. The first is by unmanned weather stations called SNOTEL, or snow telemetry. These sites are solar-powered and often remote.

Other snow surveys are done manually in areas especially difficult to access, such as wilderness areas.

"It's an opportunity to do a trip most don't get to experience," said Kraig Lang, wilderness ranger for the Rocky Mountain Ranger Station. "Places like the Bob Marshall (Wilderness) are something not many experience in winter."

In Montana, these manual surveys date back to the 1930s. Not much has changed since then as to how people access the backcountry. Men and women trek deep into the wilderness on ski or horseback to ford nearly-frozen rivers and mountain passes to collect data from just a few survey sites.

Before the snow falls, when Lang is patrolling in hunting season, he stashes food and supplies in a few backcountry cabins so those on his 80-mile ski survey route don't have to carry too much weight on their backs.

"In winter travel I see speed as safety," Lang said. "The lighter we travel the better chance we have at reaching the cabins and survey sites efficiently."

Yet in the end, it all comes down to weather. Lang said there have been times when he skied a 24-mile route in seven hours, but a few months earlier it took him three days to cover the same ground. Despite the challenges, Lang said it's worth it.

"We regularly see wolves, always deer and elk, and some moose," he said. "I've once seen a wolverine and a fisher. And there's often bighorn sheep and coyotes."

The surveys provide information about snow and water that is used across the country.

The importance of snowpack could be a very long conversation, said Kathy Tonnessen, an adjunct research assistant professor at the University of Montana.

Snowpack information determines what the country's water supply will be in the coming year. Farmers need to know if their irrigation systems will have enough water for their crops. Dam operators need to know how much water to expect for power generation. Communities need to know if there is potential for flooding when the snow begins to melt. Such data is also used to study climate and habitat changes.

Tonnessen specifically studies snowpack chemistry in national parks in the Rocky Mountains. She's working to understand how air pollution collects in high-elevation snow that then feeds ponds and streams, impacting plants and animals.

"People value these protected places especially for their wilderness characteristics and recreational opportunities, like skiing or snowmobiling," Tonnessen said. "It makes us happy when there's a good snow."

hannah.ryan@umontana.edu