Applications systems verification and transfer project. Volume 5: Operational applications of satellite snow-cover observations, northwest United States

The study objective was to develop or modify methods in an operational framework that would allow incorporation of satellite derived snow cover observations for prediction of snowmelt derived runoff. Data were reviewed and verified for five basins in the Pacific Northwest. The data were analyzed for up to a 6-year period ending July 1978, and in all cases cover a low, average, and high snow cover/runoff year. Cloud cover is a major problem in these springtime runoff analyses and have hampered data collection for periods of up to 52 days. Tree cover and terrain are sufficiently dense and rugged to have caused problems. The interpretation of snowlines from satellite data was compared with conventional ground truth data and tested in operational streamflow forecasting models. When the satellite snow-covered area (SCA) data are incorporated in the SSARR (Streamflow Synthesis and Reservoir Regulation) model, there is a definite but minor improvement.