Probability of Receiving Measurable Snowfall during a Winter Season
Conterminous United States

Statistic: 30-year probability of receiving measurable (>=0.1" or 2.54 mm) snowfall during a winter season 
Time period: 1961-1990
Time interval: monthly
Spatial format: grid
Data format: ARC/Info ASCII GRID

 Projection: Geographic
Spatial resolution: 1.25 arc-minutes (~2 km)
Spatial Extent: Conterminous United States
Units: percent
Date created: August 2000
Methods: Statistical derivation from mean wet-day temperature, mapped with the PRISM modeling system, and Gaussian filter resolution enhancement. See FGDC-compliant metadata for details. 

Examples 
 
Probability of receiving measurable
snowfall during winter season
Features
  • Reviewed and approved by the US National Climatic Data Center 
  • Incorporates topographic effects on probability of snowfall 
  • Includes coastal and lake effects on probability of snowfall 
  • Accounts for temperature inversions on coasts and in inland valleys 
  • Uses upper-air temperature data to capture high-elevation patterns 
  • Consistent treatment and spatial quality control of station data 
  • Consistent coverage across all state boundaries 
  • "Universal" geographic (latitude/longitude) projection allows conversion to any other coordinate system 
  • Data format allows for easy import into ESRI's GIS products, as well as MAPINFO and Intergraph's GeoMedia 

Data used in analysis

  • 4,431 National Weather Service stations for probability of receiving measurable snowfall 
  • 6,358 stations for mean wet-day temperature
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