Evaluation of a national seasonal snowfall record at the Mount Baker, Washington, Ski Area

摘要

During the 1998-99 July-June snowfall season, the Mount Baker Ski Area in northwest Washington state reported 1,140 inches of snowfall. As the season progressed and heavy snow continued to fall, the ski area became increasingly aware of the potential to exceed the existing crud accepted record of 1,122 inches, set in 1971-72 at the National Weather Service (NWS) cooperative observing station at Paradise Ranger Station on the southern slopes of Mount Rainier 150 miles to the south. The 1971-72 snowfall was first published as a new U.S. record by the editor of Weatherwise Magazine (Ludlum 1972). Later that year, the value was also recognized by the NWS (Ruscha 1972). The Rainier - Paradise record has been cited as a North American record snowfall byKrause (1998) and others. Because the Mount Baker snowfall is a significant record and would likely be referred to for many years unless exceeded, and because a measure of economic self interest accompanies these measurements, the National Climate Extremes Committee (NCEC) was asked to judge whether the measurement program had adequately followed snowfall observing conventions for acceptance as an official record. The NCEC was formed in 1997 to evaluate the validity of climate extremes that challenge existing national records and make a recommendation to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) regarding acceptance of the observations in question. The NCEC is comprised of several permanent members: National Climatic Data Center, National Weather Service (Andrew Horvitz, Robert Leffler), and the President of the American Association of State Climatologists. Additional experts can also serve as appropriate to the particular record in question. For this event, the chairman was Robert J. Leffler. The Committee also included Kelly Redmond (Western Regional Climate Center) and Raymond Downs (NWS Office of Climate, Water, and Weather Services). The comprehensive evaluation leading to the recommendation that a new record was set is discussed herein. The problems in measuring snow depth are also reiterated.