How to read the charts

Temperature profile

The current temperature at each sensor, plus how much it has changed over the last 2, 4 or 6 hours. Temperature is on the horizontal axis and height above the ground is on the vertical axis. Red lines mean the temperature has risen, blue lines mean it has dropped. Drag the slider to go back in time.

Snow depth (laser)

Measured directly by the laser. Readings can drop out because of icing, direct sunlight or moisture, and faulty readings are filtered out. The laser usually points perpendicular to the slope while the cable runs vertically, so laser and cable depths can differ slightly.

Snow depth with temperature background

Snow depth drawn over the temperature at each sensor. Dark blue is −10 °C and red is above freezing.

Snow depth (temperature cable)

Calculated by our algorithm from the temperature data, usually accurate to within 10 cm. It's more stable than the laser but slightly less precise, and can lag behind sudden changes. Red horizontal lines mark a temperature gradient above 1 °C per 10 cm, a sign that a weak layer may be forming.

This chart uses our older format. It will move to the new chart system during winter 2026–2027.

Snow depth with faceting index

Uses the temperature gradient between sensors to show where weak layers are forming. A red line means angular (faceted) grains and no line means rounded grains. Faceted grains bond poorly, so this chart shows where weak layers sit in the snowpack.

This chart uses our older format. It will move to the new chart system during winter 2026–2027.

Temperature

The reading from the top sensor on the cable. Direct sunlight on the cable can make it read too high.

SNOWPACK model

Every sensor runs the SNOWPACK snow model for winter 2026–2027, using snow depth and air temperature from SM4 and other inputs from the nearest weather station and the MeteoIO generator.