{"id":652,"date":"2025-05-05T12:09:44","date_gmt":"2025-05-05T16:09:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.usnh.edu\/ness\/?p=652"},"modified":"2025-05-05T12:09:44","modified_gmt":"2025-05-05T16:09:44","slug":"the-maine-cooperative-snow-survey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.usnh.edu\/ness\/the-maine-cooperative-snow-survey","title":{"rendered":"The Maine Cooperative Snow Survey"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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by Catherine Schmitt<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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April 28, 2025<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Knowing how much snow is on the ground, and how much water might flow downstream during the spring melt, is important information for everyone who lives in or visits Maine, especially those who reside next to rivers, operate hydroelectric dams, use water for manufacturing, manage drinking water supplies, and forecast river flooding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Some hydroelectric dam operators have been measuring snow since the early 1900s. In 1993, the State of Maine and the U.S. Geological Survey began coordinating the various snow measurements being taken across the state, maintaining and analyzing data and sharing information with other agencies and communities. Jessie Meeks of Maine Geological Survey is the current lead coordinator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How many people are involved in the survey?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s kind of an all-hands-on-deck situation,\u201d said Meeks. Meeks and one additional staff member sample many of the sites, usually 10-11 in a day. \u201cThey are long days,\u201d she said. \u201cWe sample on a mix of public and private properties, but nearly everyone I encounter is interested and supportive of the effort, especially when they know the information is used to forecast flooding.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Snow depth is measured with an official \u201cfederal snow sampler,\u201d a standardized metal tube pushed down into the snow. A window on the side allows the sampler to see the level of the snowpack and read the depth in inches from ruler markings. The snow tube is then suspended from a handheld scale, with weight later converted to calculate inches of water content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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USGS Federal Snow Sampler<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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PC: Sarah Hall – College of the Atlantic<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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PC: USGS – Jim Caldwell Snow Sampling<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Additional sites are monitored by 14 different partners, for a total of 134 sites. Not every site is sampled every time. And in 2024, there was so little snow, some sites, such as College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor, didn\u2019t sample at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n