Manual snow surveys are conducted up to eight times per year from January through June across British Columbia. This data file contains the current year's snow pack level observations, averaging snow depth and water equivalent from five or ten points per site. The Government of British Columbia provides the data, which includes site number, survey period, elevation, and percent of normal.
Use Cases
- Predict seasonal water availability based on snow water equivalent measurements.
- Monitor climate change impacts on snowpack based on percent of normal and depth data.
- Validate hydrological models using time-series data from surveyed sites.
- Assess flood risk from snowmelt using elevation and survey period data.
Strengths
- Data is collected from sites located between 1000 and 2000 metres above sea level.
- Measurements are averaged from five or ten location points per sampling site.
- Survey periods are clearly defined, with up to eight measurements per year.
Limitations
- Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
- Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
Provenance
- Source
- Government of British Columbia
- Collection Method
- Manual surveys conducted as part of the BC Snow Survey program.
- Time Range
- Current year (December to April)
- Freshness
- Last updated 2026-04-17 15:26:02.324880; freshness should be verified.
- Geography
- British Columbia