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Cryosphere Now: Snow

The most recent snow cover information is given below. They are generally 1-4 days old. Hover over a thumbnail to get the full image, description, and credits. Important: The products shown on the "Cryosphere Now" pages provide a variety of perspectives on the state of the cryosphere. They are for purposes of illustration and comparison and are not necessarily endorsed by GCW as "authoritative". Note: Some of the products are not available in during the summer.

Global:

NOAA Multisensor Snow/Ice Cover

The Global Multisensor Snow/Ice Cover Map is derived from combined observations of METOP AVHRR, MSG SEVIRI, GOES Imager and DMSP SSMIS. The algorithm is fully automated. It is a NOAA/NESDIS product. (Courtesy of Peter Romanov)

EC Global Snow Cover

The EC Global Snow Cover plot is from the Weatheroffice of Environment Canada's (EC) Canadian Meteorological Centre (CMC). It is a daily, global map of snow cover/depth and sea surface temperature anomalies.

Northern Hemisphere:

GCW/FMI SWE Tracker

The GCW/FMI SWE Tracker is a product of the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI), based on GlobSnow snow water equivalent (SWE). It was developed as part of the GCW Snow Watch project. It illustrates the current Northern Hemisphere snow water equivalent relative to the long-term mean and variability. NOTE: The SWE retrievals can be unreliable in summer between approximately late May and early October. Therefore, the plots might not be updated during that period.

EC/GCW NH Snow Extent Tracker

The Environment Canada (EC) GCW Snow Cover Extent Tracker provides an estimate of the current Northern Hemisphere snow cover extent relative to the 1998-2011 period based on the Canadian Meteorological Centre operational daily snow depth analysis. The analysis uses real-time surface snow depth observations and model-derived information. More information, and trackers for North America and Eurasia, are available at the Canadian Cryospheric Information Network.

EC/GCW NH SWE Tracker

The Environment Canada (EC) GCW Snow Water Equivalent Tracker provides an estimate of current Northern Hemisphere SWE relative to the 1998-2011 period. It is based on the Canadian Meteorological Centre operational daily snow depth analysis with SWE estimated using a density look-up table. The CMC analysis uses surface real-time snow depth observations and model-derived information. More information, and trackers for North America and Eurasia, are available at the Canadian Cryospheric Information Network.

GMASI NH Snow Extent Tracker

The GMASI Snow Trackers are derived from combined observations of METOP AVHRR, MSG SEVIRI, GOES Imager and DMSP SSMIS. The Global Multisensor Snow/Ice Cover Map (GMASI) algorithm is fully automated. It is a NOAA/NESDIS product. (Courtesy of Peter Romanov)

Rutgers NH Snow Extent Tracker

Weekly NH SCE for the current snow year (purple) plotted with the mean (grey dashed line), maximum (blue), and minimum (orange) SCE for each week. Mean weekly SCE and extremes calculated using the period from October 1966 forward. Weekly means for the period of record are used for 9 missing months during 1968, 1969, and 1971 to create a continuous time series. Missing months fall between June and October. Courtesy of the Rutgers Global Snow Lab.

IMS Snow Cover

IMS is the Interactive Multi-Sensor Snow and Ice Mapping System from the National Ice Center.

JAXA-NiPR AMSR2 Snow & Ice

JAXA-NiPR composite image product with sea ice concentration, sea surface temperature, and snow depth on land. From AMSR2 data. More plots are available from the National Institute of Polar Research (NIPR) Arctic Data archive System (ADS).

Rutgers Daily Snow Extent

The Rutgers Global Snow Lab, Rutgers University, generates many snow products. This is the daily IMS snow extent. Text annotations were added here.

Rutgers Daily Snow Departure

The Rutgers Global Snow Lab, Rutgers University, generates many snow products. This is the daily IMS snow cover departure from the long-term average. Text annotations were added here.

Southern Hemisphere:

GMASI South America Snow Extent Tracker

The GMASI Snow Trackers are derived from combined observations of METOP AVHRR, MSG SEVIRI, GOES Imager and DMSP SSMIS. The Global Multisensor Snow/Ice Cover Map (GMASI) algorithm is fully automated. It is a NOAA/NESDIS product. (Courtesy of Peter Romanov)

GMASI Australia/NZ Snow Extent Tracker

The GMASI Snow Trackers are derived from combined observations of METOP AVHRR, MSG SEVIRI, GOES Imager and DMSP SSMIS. The Global Multisensor Snow/Ice Cover Map (GMASI) algorithm is fully automated. It is a NOAA/NESDIS product. (Courtesy of Peter Romanov)

Regional Products:

NOHRSC US Snow Depth

NOHRSC plots are from the NOAA National Operational Hydrologic Remote Sensing Center Snow Analyses.

NOHRSC US SWE

NOHRSC plots are from the NOAA National Operational Hydrologic Remote Sensing Center Snow Analyses.

Japan Snow Depth

Snow depth across Japan based in situ measurements compiled by the Research Institute for Natural Hazards & Disaster Recovery(RINHDR).

Other Resources: