Swiss Alpine Catchment Meteorological Data for Rain-on-Snow Event Analysis

ENVIDAT provides meteorological data for 58 catchments in the Swiss Alps, structured as a 2 km grid of virtual stations. This dataset was used to run the SNOWPACK model for simulating snow cover processes during rain-on-snow events. The data was published in 2018.

Use Cases

• Simulate snowpack evolution using meteorological forcing data like temperature, precipitation, and radiation for each virtual station.
• Identify and analyze rain-on-snow event thresholds by examining time series of air temperature and precipitation type.
• Model catchment-scale hydrological responses by correlating simulated snow water equivalent with meteorological grid data.
• Validate snow cover models like SNOWPACK against observed rain-on-snow events documented in the dataset.

Strengths

• Covers 58 distinct catchments in the Swiss Alps for regional analysis.
• Data is provided on a consistent 2 km resolution grid for spatial comparability.
• Each catchment's record contains at least one documented rain-on-snow event.

Limitations

• Dataset temporal coverage and specific row count are not provided.
• Data is from 2018 or earlier, limiting analysis of recent climate trends.
• Relies on model-derived 'virtual stations' rather than direct ground observations.

Provenance

Source

ENVIDAT, the environmental data portal of the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL).

Collection Method

Data was generated to run the SNOWPACK model, likely derived from interpolated meteorological observations or reanalysis data on a 2 km grid.

Time Range

null

Freshness

Last updated in 2018.

Geography

58 catchments within the Swiss Alps.