Daily 4 km Snow Water Equivalent and Depth for Conterminous US

NASA-supported University of Arizona researchers produced this dataset, which provides daily, 4-kilometer resolution estimates of snow water equivalent and snow depth across the conterminous United States. It is generated by assimilating in-situ measurements from the SNOTEL and COOP networks with modeled temperature and precipitation data from PRISM. The dataset's presence across multiple government platforms indicates its established use for environmental monitoring.

Use Cases

• Modeling seasonal water supply from mountain snowpack using the snow water equivalent (SWE) variable.
• Analyzing spatial patterns of snow accumulation and melt dynamics with the 4 km gridded snow depth data.
• Validating regional climate or hydrological models against assimilated in-situ and modeled data.
• Assessing flood risk from spring snowmelt by tracking SWE trends over time.
• Studying the impact of temperature and precipitation (via PRISM data assimilation) on snowpack characteristics.

Strengths

• Provides high-resolution (4 km) daily data for the entire conterminous United States.
• Integrates real-world in-situ measurements from the SNOTEL and COOP networks with modeled data.
• Developed with NASA program support (MAP and SMAP) at a recognized institution (University of Arizona).
• Cross-platform presence on Data.gov and NASA EarthData signals validation and importance for the research community.

Limitations

• Specific row counts, file sizes, and a complete column list are not provided by any source.
• Sources conflict on the last updated date: Data.gov lists 2026-03-13, while NASA EarthData lists 2023-09-30.
• The license is ambiguously listed as 'other-license-specified' without explicit terms.

Provenance

Source

University of Arizona, developed under support of NASA MAP and SMAP Programs.

Collection Method

Data assimilation of in-situ snow measurements (SNOTEL, COOP networks) with modeled, gridded temperature and precipitation data from PRISM.

Time Range

Daily data; specific start and end years are not provided.

Freshness

2026-03 13 03:24:28.707092 (from Data.gov, but conflicts with NASA source)

Geography

Conterminous United States.