Why sno-tel sites more reliable than telemetry?

With the exception of no windspeed at the snotel sites, they provide pretty much the same data.<br><br>The snotel sites are located in remote locations with difficult access, and yet they seem to chug on, producing seemingly valid data.<br><br>Yet, the telemetry sites, with relatively easy access, seem to be always broken (right now, Baker, Grace Lakes, Washington Pass, Sunrise, Chinook Pass are all broken). I don't think Wa Pass, Sunrise or Chinook have ever lasted a few weeks of wintry weather before shutting down.<br><br>Is there just a lot more funding for snotel sites? Can they afford more reliable equipment?<br><br> ???

Hey Phil, The Pdise Snotel offers data at only 6 hour intervals (at least that's the only way I can figure out how to get it). They also don'' currenlty show snow depth:<br><br> www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/nwcc/sntl-datarpt....=679&days=7&state=WA

About half the snotel sites show snowdepth.<br>e.g. Park Creek Ridge, in the middle of nowhere:<br> www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/nwcc/sntl-datarpt....=681&days=7&state=WA

Are there any Snotel sites with hour intervals? Last Saturday night on Mt Hood over a period of a few hours it got warm and rained, then got colder. We wouldn't of seen this in telemtry with an interval of 6 hours.<br>

<br>  11 5  1600    29    27    98    99    21    42   247   .16   .77     3    39<br>  11 5  1700    32    30    99   100    28    52   254    .2   .97     3    40<br>   11 5  1800    33    34    99   100    28    73   274   .35  1.32     3    39<br>   11 5  1900    32    35   100    98    33    66   281   .28   1.6    45    38<br>  11 5  2000    30    33   100    99    30    67   282   .08  1.68     3    37<br>  11 5  2100    29    32    99    99    30    67   281   .12   1.8     3    37<br>... gets even colder over next few hours...<br>

<br>We were able to attribute this to the crust we found. We wouldn't have been able to do this thru the 6hr Snotel sites. 

Most of the snotels have hourly stats.  Maybe the paradise doesn't because there is a telemetry site there?<br><br>Here is your warm spell in one of the southern washington ones:<br> www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/nwcc/sntl-datarpt....=776&days=7&state=WA
went above freezing from 7pm on 11/5 and stayed pretty warm till midnight.

I agree, in general, they don't have quite the frequency or amount of data, and are less useful than the telemetry sites (and how else do you find out a freak storm dropped 40 inches of snow in the eastern Olympics, as happened at one point last year ;-) ).  But whatever they use to communicate their info to civilization seems a lot more reliable.

Great info, Larry.<br>So how do the snow depth sensors work on Snotel sites that have them?