Nevada Snow Survey - What's New for 2025?

• New staff – Jason Welz
• New SNOTEL – Lost Lakes SNOTEL
• Improved snow depth sensors installed at over half the SNOTEL sites in the region.
• New “supersite” sensors added at Heavenly Valley SNOTEL
• Corduroy Flat Aerial Marker gets upgraded to a full SNOTEL.
• Streamflow Forecast Changes

New Staff – Jason Welz

We are pleased to announce that Jason Welz joined the Nevada Snow Survey in August. Jason brings a wealth of hydrology experience from working with the USGS in Carson City and the NRCS Colorado Snow Survey. Jason can be reached at jason.welz@usda.gov.

New SNOTEL - Lost Lakes SNOTEL

Lost Lakes SNOTEL was constructed September 16-17, 2024. This new SNOTEL is located near the crest of the Sierra at 8,640 feet elevation at the headwaters of the West Fork Carson River. This is high accumulation snow zone. Data from the site can be accessed at https://wcc.sc.egov.usda.gov/nwcc/site?sitenum=1331

New Snow Depth Sensors

NRCS staff were busy replacing SNOTEL snow depth sensors this summer. The new sensors are more reliable at making measurements during storm events which will allow data users to track snow accumulation during storms on an hour-by-hour basis with far fewer missed readings than in the past. Currently over half the SNOTELs in Nevada and the Eastern Sierra have been upgraded. The red and blue symbols on the included map indicate SNOTELs with new snow depth sensors. Work will continue this winter and into next summer. 

Heavenly Valley SNOTEL upgraded to "Supersite"

To support research and snowpack modeling efforts the NRCS has upgraded a number of standard sites across the western US to SNOTEL “Supersites”. As part of this effort, Heavenly Valley SNOTEL in the Lake Tahoe Basin was upgraded. In addition to its standard sensors Heavenly now is collecting data for wind speed and wind direction, relative humidity, as well as incoming and outgoing long and short-wave radiation. All supersites are also testing a beaded temperature cable which hangs vertically from the tower to measure snowpack temperature every 8 inches (20cm). This application is still somewhat experimental and is intended to measure the snow’s vertical temperature profile as the beads are buried by snow. This is helpful for predicting how much energy is needed to produce snowmelt which impacts flood potential during rain on snow events. These supersite sensors are in addition to the standard sensors at all Nevada and Eastern Sierra SNOTELs which measure snow water equivalent, snow depth, precipitation, air temperature, soil moisture and soil temperature.

Corduroy Flat Aerial Marker is now a full SNOTEL

Corduroy Flat near Current Mountain in Eastern Nevada was upgraded to a full SNOTEL on July 9-10, 2024. This site started as an aerial marker with snow depth and estimated snow water data going back to 1983. After the work this summer site reports the full range of SNOTEL data on an hourly basis including snow water, snow depth, precipitation, soil moisture, and air temperature. Data from the site can be accessed at: https://wcc.sc.egov.usda.gov/nwcc/site?sitenum=1209.

Streamflow Forecasting Updates

There are a few changes regarding streamflow forecasts this year. 

• The Lake Tahoe Net Inflow forecast has been discontinued. Water management decisions are legally bound to the Lake Tahoe Gates Closed Rise forecast which we will keep. The Lake Tahoe Net Inflow dataset included lake evaporation causing sometimes negative forecast values for the April-July period which created confusion. 
• The Marlette Lake Inflow forecast period has been shorted from April-July to April-June. The management of Marlette Lake allows for pumping from the lake starting in July to supply water to Virginia City and Carson City. This pumping causes negative inflow as water leaves the basin. Shortening the forecast period has improved forecast skill, reduced root mean square error and eliminated the confusing negative forecast values.
• The Steamboat Creek at Steamboat forecast in the Truckee Basin is discontinued because streamflow at this gage is impacted by the fluctuating water level of Washoe Lake, especially during multi-year droughts. Since Washoe Lake storage is not gaged there is no way to adjust the streamflow data.
• The Rock Creek near Battle Mountain forecast in the Lower Humboldt Basin is discontinued. This forecast also had low skill due to most of the basin being at elevations below the SNOTEL network.
• Forecasts for the Little Truckee have been reworked. Stampede Local Inflow and Boca Local Inflow forecasts have been discontinued as these were non-traditional forecasts for “hydrologic” inflow for the localized basins between reservoirs. As replacements we are now forecasting naturalized flow for the full basin at two points. 1) Little Truckee River below Stampede Dam forecast represents naturalized flow at Stampede Dam including Independence Lake Inflow, 2) Little Truckee River below Boca Dam forecast is for naturalized flow at Boca Dam. The latter forecast was previously called Little Truckee River above Boca Dam, but the name has been changed to represent that this forecast is for the whole basin including inflow to Independence, Stampede and Boca reservoirs. These NRCS forecasts mirror forecasts by the NOAA CA-NV River Forecast Center.
• The United States Geological Survey discontinued gaging at Kingston Creek and McDermitt Creek. The NRCS will continue to forecast these points for the short-term. As for the long-term, these forecasts may be discontinued, since there is no way to verify forecasts without gage data.