Mountain Rain or Snow

Scientists need your help to better understand winter weather! It’s notoriously difficult to research winter precipitation in the mountains. Precipitation phase can vary over the course of minutes and across short distances. Few weather stations can accurately identify the precipitation phase. Human observers are our best resource for discovering how precipitation phase varies in time and space. Start reporting with the Mountain Rain or Snow app when the storm changes from rain to snow, or snow to rain.

Your contributions to Mountain Rain or Snow DO make a difference. Water matters to all of us. We are working to improve satellite remote sensing data and hydrologic models to better estimate what type of precipitation falls during winter storms.

Despite the important differences between rain and snow, we have few visual observations of precipitation type, particularly in the mountains. Your reports will help us and other scientists improve remote sensing products and hydrologic models to better estimate what type of precipitation falls during winter storms. This information improves our ability to estimate how much water is available for later use, reduce flood hazards, and better predict good skiing conditions.