At the beginning of each month in winter, the Natural Resources Conservation Service produces a report on snowpack conditions across Oregon, predicting how  mountain snow may translate into streamflows during the spring and summer.
Much of the snowpack measurements in the Klamath Basin come from automatic snow telemetry (SNOTEL) sites positioned in key high-altitude areas. But there are a few locations where scientists still take measurements the old-fashioned way. Tag along with the "snow guys" as they evaluate the situation at Crater Lake National Park.
Matthew Kritzer, hydrologist with the Bureau of Reclamation, and Chris Gebauer, soil scientist with the Natural Resources Conservation Service, snowshoe along the snow course at Crater Lake National Park on Jan. 31, 2022. Snow courses were established across the Western U.S. in the early 20th Century to help water managers better predict wet and dry years for agricultural purposes.
- Staff photo by Arden Barnes / Report for America
Kritzer and Gebauer assemble a metal pole used to measure the snowpack. The pole’s design has remained largely unchanged since measurements began, and while most snow courses have been replaced by automated SNOTEL sites, the course behind Crater Lake National Park Headquarters allows scientists to get out into the field and evaluate conditions themselves.
- Staff photo by Arden Barnes / Report for America
Crater Lake is the snowiest place in the Klamath Basin, receiving more than 400 inches per year on average. But that's down 34% from the 1930s — more of the park's snow is falling as rain due to warmer temperatures.
- Staff photo by Arden Barnes / Report for America
Kritzer uses the pole to measure snow depth all the way down to the ground and extract a core sample. Understanding the behavior of snow from year to year is crucial, because the hydrology of the Klamath Basin evolved to accumulate snow as a natural reservoir in the winter, which slowly releases into soils, streams and lakes throughout the summer. If less snow than normal accumulates during the winter, ecosystems could be left parched too early in the summer.
- Staff photo by Arden Barnes / Report for America
Kritzer walks out 100 feet between taking measurements, sticking the pole into the snow at roughly the same spots each month. As the winter progresses, layers of snow deposited by storms tend to compact, increasing the snowpack's water content, or snow-water equivalent.
- Staff photo by Arden Barnes / Report for America
Kritzer points to the reading of snow depth on the pole. While changes in snow depth can help scientists understand how the snowpack is compacting, melting or evaporating straight into the air, a greater snow depth doesn't necessarily translate to a higher water content.
- Staff photo by Arden Barnes / Report for America
The measurement scientists are most concerned about is snow-water equivalent, which explains how many inches of water a snowpack will contribute to the landscape once it melts. Kritzer and Gebauer use a specialized scale to weigh the  pole, determining the water content of the snow core contained inside.
- Staff photo by Arden Barnes / Report for America
Gebauer takes down the snow data. At this point in the year, with no significant snowstorms hitting the region since early January, the Klamath Basin's overall snow-water equivalent is about 73% of normal.
- Staff photo by Arden Barnes / Report for America
Having taken five measurements along the snow course, Kritzer begins to disassemble the pole. The data collected at Crater Lake will be fed into a model along with more than 20 other sites throughout the Upper Klamath Basin to estimate how spring and summer streamflows might respond once the snow melts.Â
- Staff photo by Arden Barnes / Report for America
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Matthew Kritzer, hydrologist with the Bureau of Reclamation, and Chris Gebauer, soil scientist with the Natural Resources Conservation Service, snowshoe along the snow course at Crater Lake National Park on Jan. 31, 2022. Snow courses were established across the Western U.S. in the early 20th Century to help water managers better predict wet and dry years for agricultural purposes.
- Staff photo by Arden Barnes / Report for America
Kritzer and Gebauer assemble a metal pole used to measure the snowpack. The pole’s design has remained largely unchanged since measurements began, and while most snow courses have been replaced by automated SNOTEL sites, the course behind Crater Lake National Park Headquarters allows scientists to get out into the field and evaluate conditions themselves.
- Staff photo by Arden Barnes / Report for America
Crater Lake is the snowiest place in the Klamath Basin, receiving more than 400 inches per year on average. But that's down 34% from the 1930s — more of the park's snow is falling as rain due to warmer temperatures.
- Staff photo by Arden Barnes / Report for America
Kritzer uses the pole to measure snow depth all the way down to the ground and extract a core sample. Understanding the behavior of snow from year to year is crucial, because the hydrology of the Klamath Basin evolved to accumulate snow as a natural reservoir in the winter, which slowly releases into soils, streams and lakes throughout the summer. If less snow than normal accumulates during the winter, ecosystems could be left parched too early in the summer.
- Staff photo by Arden Barnes / Report for America
Kritzer walks out 100 feet between taking measurements, sticking the pole into the snow at roughly the same spots each month. As the winter progresses, layers of snow deposited by storms tend to compact, increasing the snowpack's water content, or snow-water equivalent.
- Staff photo by Arden Barnes / Report for America
Kritzer points to the reading of snow depth on the pole. While changes in snow depth can help scientists understand how the snowpack is compacting, melting or evaporating straight into the air, a greater snow depth doesn't necessarily translate to a higher water content.
- Staff photo by Arden Barnes / Report for America
The measurement scientists are most concerned about is snow-water equivalent, which explains how many inches of water a snowpack will contribute to the landscape once it melts. Kritzer and Gebauer use a specialized scale to weigh the  pole, determining the water content of the snow core contained inside.
- Staff photo by Arden Barnes / Report for America
Gebauer takes down the snow data. At this point in the year, with no significant snowstorms hitting the region since early January, the Klamath Basin's overall snow-water equivalent is about 73% of normal.
- Staff photo by Arden Barnes / Report for America
Having taken five measurements along the snow course, Kritzer begins to disassemble the pole. The data collected at Crater Lake will be fed into a model along with more than 20 other sites throughout the Upper Klamath Basin to estimate how spring and summer streamflows might respond once the snow melts.Â
- Staff photo by Arden Barnes / Report for America
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