SNOWPACK PREDICTION CONTEST: Wenatchee Mountains
Can your classroom accurately predict the amount of snow that we will have in the Wenatchee Mountain this year? How about the snow/water equivalent? Send SnowSchool your prediction and you could win a prize for your entire classroom! The closest class wins the prize!! Winners will be announced in the spring.
Send your snow depth and snow/water equivalent prediction to SnowSchool by clicking this link. Questions? Email kmcclay@winterwildlands.org
Specifically, SnowSchool wants to know your prediction for the greatest snow depth measurement and the greatest snow/water equivalent measurement during the course of the entire winter. One prediction (snow and water) per class please (this should be two numbers both in inches).
Example: Prediction for Ms. Smith’s Class- 50 inch snow depth, 14.1 inch snow/water equivalent
Once you make your prediction your class name will be added to this page below and you will be able to track and compare your prediction to the live snowpack graph as it grows (or melts) each week of the winter!
The above graph is updated every hour from the SNOTEL station near Wenatchee. Click here to view a full page image of the graph.
Elementary Grades enter your prediction by clicking here! Hint: Make sure to looks at the historical snowpack graphs below. You might also consider using averages to inform your prediction.
Contest predictions will be automatically posted below:
Middle and High School students enter your prediction by clicking here! You have extra challenges including entering your prediction for the amount of snow/water equivalent on April 1st and your prediction for the first day of the spring that the SNOTEL site will read “0” (AKA melt completely). Hint: To see the history of snowpack levels on April 1st click here.
Contest predictions will be automatically posted below:
To view the webpage for the SNOTEL station near Wenatchee click the picture of the station below:
View the interactive map of SNOTEL stations in the mountains of Washington:
Want to learn more about SNOTEL and the connection between mountain snow and water?
HISTORICAL SNOWPACK DATA: Its important to keep track of snow, how much of it there is in the mountains because mountain snow is our source of water in Washington. If we have less snow than normal, we could have less water available for people to use. In making your prediction you will want to look at what happened in previous years (see graphs below), how much snow and snow/water equivalent we have on the ground right now (above graph), any data you collected during your SnowSchool field trip, and historical/forecasted weather. To help with your predictions we’ve compiled nearly 40 years of snowpack data below-
Snow depth and Snow Water Equivalent since 2002
All data since 1980 (snow depth wasn’t collected until 2002)
All data collected from the Upper Wheeeler SNOTEL Site located in the Wenatchee Mtns.
To see a list of the greatest SWE measurements recorded each year click here.
Want to look up additional graphs/years? Click here!
Winter Wildlands Alliance is a national nonprofit organization promoting and
preserving winter wildlands and a quality human-powered snowsports
experience on public lands.
