Center for Snow and Avalanche Studies

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Colorado Dust-on-Snow (CODOS)
With direct funding support from stakeholders, CODOS monitors the presence/absence of dust layers at 11 mountain pass locations throughout Colorado.

With those data, data from nearby Snotel sites, and weather forecasts, CODOS provides its funders with a series of “Update” analyses of how dust-on-snow is likely to influence snowmelt timing and rates during the snowmelt runoff season.

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The Center for Snow & Avalanche Studies serves the mountain science community and regional resource managers by hosting & conducting interdisciplinary research and conducting integrative 24/7/365 monitoring that captures weather, snowpack, radiation, soils, plant community and hydrologic signals of regional climate trends.
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     CODOS Updates > March 21, 2013 Update

CODOS Alert for event D4-WY2013, March 17-18, 2013

Greetings from Silverton -

As weather luck would have it, very strong W'ly winds delivered our fourth dust-on-snow event of the season (D4-WY2013) to Senator Beck Basin and the Red Mountain Pass locale just as I began our first CODOS site tour, on Monday, March 18, 2013.  Although no dust was visible in the air the previous evening, it's possible that this dust storm began Sunday night, given the strong WNW'ly winds recorded at Putney Study Plot (see below).  Dust was visible in the air, with minor reduction of visibility early on Monday morning, the 18th, in the Montrose and lower Gunnison valley.  CSAS field assistant Andrew Temple collected samples of D4 while I was on tour.  Event D4 was evident at the snowpack surface, as an iced-tea colored layer, upon my return to Silverton on Wednesday evening, March 20th.  D4 was also observed on the snow surface in the Steamboat Springs locale that morning (of the 20th) and on McClure Pass that afternoon.

Our first series of site-specific, WY 2013 CODOS Updates is forthcoming, beginning with the sites I just visited (Park Cone, Hoosier Pass, Grizzly Peak, Berthoud Summit, Willow Creek Pass, Rabbit Ears Pass, and McClure Pass).  We will conclude this first full circuit in coming days, visiting Grand Mesa, Spring Creek Pass, Wolf Creek Pass, and of course Swamp Angel Study Plot.

More soon,
Chris

Chris Landry, Executive Director
clandry@snowstudies.org
Center for Snow and Avalanche Studies
PO Box 190, Silverton, CO 81433 USA
(970) 387-5080
www.snowstudies.org