Snow survey data
Last updated on February 20, 2024Snow survey data is collected from manual and electronic environmental monitoring sites across the province. Scientific data plays a major role in flood forecasting and determining snowpack, water levels and stream flow conditions.
Automated snow weather stations
Automated snow weather stations are remote weather stations located in mountainous areas across the province that transmit data hourly via GOES satellites. Data is available from multiple stations maintained and operated by staff from the Ministry of Environment, BC Hydro, Rio Tinto Alcan and Metro Vancouver. Remotely-sensed snow and meteorological data (snow water equivalent, snow depth, air temperature, and precipitation) is available in near-real-time. Daily graphs of snow water equivalent are also available for the current water year (from October 1st to present).
- January 2024: Automated Snow Weather Station Status Report (PDF, 129 KB)
- About Automatic Snow Weather Stations
- Automated Snow Weather Station Locations (DataBC)
- List of Automated Snow Weather Stations
- Snow Station Satellite Cameras
Manual snow survey sites
Manual measurements of snow depth and snow water equivalent data are collected using snow sampling tubes at survey sites across the province. Measurements are taken up to eight times per year, providing a record of snow packs across the province. The manual snow survey data and automated snow survey data together provide information used in forecasting stream flows, flood risk and water supplies.
View the Snow Survey Stations Interactive Map to access automated snow weather station data.
UPDATE: 7-day snow reports are now available. Click on a snow station to view them.
Find additional data by searching ‘snow’ in the DataBC catalogue.
Related links
Contact information
For more information on manual and automated snow pillow data please contact snow.survey@gov.bc.ca.
For information on flood forecasting please contact the River Forecast Centre.