Winds that tear weather gauges from their mountings and blizzards that bury chairlifts characterize the extreme weather at Donner Summit. This area attracts the attention of climatologists, meteorologists, hydrologists, and water supply managers while also being a prime skiing destination.
The winter season has been mild compared to previous years, but strong storms like the 10 atmospheric river events during the 2016-17 winter are not unusual. These systems produced winds up to 173 miles per hour and over 700 inches of snowfall, with snowpack depths exceeding 20 feet. Such conditions were recorded using new instruments on a mountaintop through a collaboration between the University of Nevada, Reno's Nevada State Climatologist's Office and Sugar Bowl Resort.
Scientists from the College of Science and officials at Sugar Bowl Resort installed three weather stations to study regional weather and climate change impacts in the Northern Sierra. The data collected is available to the public every 10 minutes and shared daily with organizations such as the National Weather Service, U.S. Forest Service, and Sierra Avalanche Center. This information is accessible online at https://www.unr.edu/climate/climate-research/mwcl and aids Sugar Bowl Resort in avalanche control and slope grooming operations.
"Less than an hour from the University's campus in Reno, the nearly 8,400-foot summit of Mt. Lincoln is an ideal location for high-elevation climate observations," said Douglas Boyle, associate professor in the Department of Geography in the College of Science and director of the Nevada State Climate Office. "The University is interested in long-term monitoring of the weather and climate variables with the primary goal of observing changes in atmospheric winds, associated high-elevation orographic-based precipitation, and snowpack; primary sources of water for rivers, reservoirs, aquifers, agriculture, and millions of people in northern California and east side Sierra Nevada."
Donner Summit has climate records dating back to the late 1800s with twice-daily records at Sugar Bowl Ski Resort maintained for decades. It remains one of America's longest continuous ski resort snow-recording sites.
The new weather stations operate via an internet-based system using AlertTahoe's private high-speed microwave-linked network that transmits real-time data to scientists, public safety officials, and Sugar Bowl's professional ski patrol. High-definition cameras have been installed at all three locations: mid-mountain (7,558 feet) and base station (6,978 feet). These sites were chosen with Sugar Bowl Ski Patrol to represent areas across the resort aiding avalanche control decisions.
"Sugar Bowl benefits from this partnership by gaining access to accurate real-time observations of weather and snow conditions that can assist with our operational decision-making and communications to our guests," Greg Dallas said. "Science-based snow reporting offers consistent authentic data available...We appreciate its value as it relates to studying climate change impacts in Sierra."
Since May 2014 when granted a 10-year permit within privately held property along Sierra Crest near Donner Summit by Sugar Bowl Corporation faculty utilize this observation network educationally.
"This project serves as an excellent outdoor laboratory for studying mountain weather," Boyle stated."Since 2014 dozens undergraduate graduate students visited worked our sites learning about monitoring extreme conditions...Feedback overwhelmingly positive."
From October 2016 onward air temperature relative humidity wind speed direction barometric pressure precipitation snow depth water content surface temperature automatically observed recorded three sites Automated sensors added summer
"Sugar Bowl amazing partner collaborator project," Boyle noted."Together learned challenges keeping real-time observations available during extreme conditions including transmitting signals through drifts outages riming issues equipment."
In spring Graham Kent partnered include these sites Seismological Laboratory’s multi-hazard monitoring communications network encompassing earthquakes wildfire observations
State-of-the-art camera system part AlertTahoe fire camera network provides first-responders scientists safety officials others access assisting avalanche forecasting mitigation accuracy Snow levels mountain passes aviation region
Wilderness internet network includes twenty-five fire cameras along crest south Mammoth Lakes BLM lands Another ten slated installation addition needed understand conditions better