Snow Surveying
Snow surveys play an important role in the management of New York City's water supply in the winter. By accurately measuring the amount of water in the snow pack, snow surveyors provide our reservoir operations staff with the data needed to properly operate the water supply.
The current snow pack is above the historical average from previous years. The snow survey conducted on February 1, 2022 measured the liquid equivalent of 57.2 BILLION gallons for the entire upstate system which comprises of the Delaware, Catskill and Croton watersheds (the historical average for this time of year is 23.8 billion gallons). Average temperatures for the area in January ranged between 2.6–4.9 degrees Fahrenheit below normal, so that has minimized the melt and helped maintain a standing snow pack.
Snow surveys are conducted every two weeks from January to April based upon the schedule issued by the Northeast Regional Climate Center at Cornell University. However, our snowpack team sometimes conducts additional surveys in particular watersheds when reservoir operations needs updated data for water management purposes.
The snow surveys are also part of an effort coordinated by the National Weather Service to measure and report the water content in the snowpack of the Northeastern United States. The amount of water in the snow pack and how it eventually melts has implications for river forecasting, flood control, water supply, soil erosion, drought, stream ecology and fire potential among others.
Learn more about Reservoir Operations and Watershed Monitoring.
