Assessment of Snowfall Accumulation from Satellite and Reanalysis Products Using SNOTEL Observations in Alaska

The combination of snowfall, snow water equivalent (SWE), and precipitation rate measurements from 39 telemetry (SNOTEL) sites in Alaska were used to assess the performance various products satellites, reanalysis, rain gauges. Observation two years (2018–2019) a high-resolution radar/rain gauge data (Stage IV) product was also utilized give insights into scaling differences between products. outcomes popular methods for undercatch correction. It found that SWE at SNOTELs, as well estimates based on Stage IV data, are generally consistent can provide range within which other be assessed. time-series snowfall accumulation suggests most capture events; however, exist their accumulation. Reanalysis tended overestimate study area, while current combined passive microwave remote sensing (i.e., IMERG-HQ) underestimate We correction factors applied gauges effective improving undercatch, especially snowfall. However, no improvement correlation is seen when applied, rainfall still estimated better than Even though IMERG-HQ has less skill capturing rainfall, analysis using Taylor plots showed does have geographical distribution accumulation; therefore, bias adjustment might lead reasonable estimates. This demonstrates properties (e.g., SNOTEL sites) complement estimate In future, gridded depth GlobSnow Sentinel-1 its over broader regions.