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Snowfall and snow depth for Canada 1943-1982

Summary

Data include monthly snowfall and end-of-month snow depth for 140 stations across Canada. Stations that maintained at least 20 years of data were chosen. The original data are from Atmospheric Environment Service Canadian Climate Centre and from NOAA's National Climatic Data Center. Data are divided into eight files by region or province: British Columbia (17 stations), Yukon and Northwest Territories (33 stations), Alberta (12 stations), Saskatchewan (115 stations), Manitoba (10 stations), Ontario (19 stations), Quebec (20 stations) and Atlantic Provinces (14 stations). Each data record contains a variable indicator to identify data as snow on the ground on the last day of the month (centimeters) or total snowfall for the month (millimeters). A list of stations, with latitude and longitude to hundredths of a degree, is included in documentation for this data set.

Access to the Canadian Snowfall/Snow Depth, 1943-1982, data set is unrestricted, but users are encouraged to register for the data. Registered users will receive e-mail notification about any product changes.

Citing These Data

Walsh, J. 1996. Snowfall and snow depth for Canada 1943-1982. Boulder, Colorado USA: National Snow and Ice Data Center. http://dx.doi.org/10.7265/N5TD9V75

The following example shows how to cite the use of this data set in a publication. For more information, see our Use and Copyright Web page.

Overview Table

Category Description
Data format ASCII
Spatial coverage 140 stations across Canada
Temporal coverage 1943-1982
File size The entire data set is 2.16 MB.
Parameter(s) Snowfall and end-of-the-month snow depth data
Metadata access View metadata
Data access Data are available via FTP.

Table of Contents

1. Contacts
2. Overview
3. Detailed Data Description
4. Data Acquisition and Processing
5. Data Access and Related Collections
6. References and Related Publications
7. Acknowledgements
8. Document Information

1. Contacts

NSIDC User Services
National Snow and Ice Data Center
CIRES, 449 UCB
University of Colorado
Boulder, CO 80309-0449  USA
phone: +1 303.492.6199
fax: +1 303.492.2468
form: Contact NSIDC User Services
e-mail: nsidc@nsidc.org

2. Overview

Data includes snowfall and end-of-the-month snow depth data for 140 stations across Canada. Stations that maintained at least 20 years of data were chosen. The data set was compiled by Dr. John Walsh, University of Illinois, Department of Atmospheric Sciences, from data obtained from the Canadian Climate Centre and from NOAA's National Climatic Data Center.

3. Detailed Data Description

The data set contains 16 files, two files for each of eight regions. One file contains the end of month snow depth (in cm) while the other contains the total monthly snowfall (in mm).

File Description
al_depth.dat The end of month snow depth for 12 stations in Alberta
al_fall.dat The total monthly snowfall for 12 stations in Alberta
at_depth.dat The end of month snow depth for 14 stations in the Atlantic Provinces
at_fall.dat The total monthly snowfall for 14 stations in the Atlantic Provinces
bc_depth.dat The end of month snow depth for 17 stations in British Columbia
bc_fall.dat The total monthly snowfall for 17 stations in British Columbia
ma_depth.dat The end of month snow depth for 10 stations in Manitoba
ma_fall.dat The total monthly snowfall for 10 stations in Manitoba
on_depth.dat The end of month snow depth for 19 stations in Ontario
on_fall.dat The total monthly snowfall for 19 stations in Ontario
qu_depth.dat The end of month snow depth for 20 stations in Quebec
qu_fall.dat The total monthly snowfall for 20 stations in Quebec
sa_depth.dat The end of month snow depth for 115 stations in Saskatchewan
sa_fall.dat The total monthly snowfall for 115 stations in Saskatchewan
yu_depth.dat The end of month snow depth for 33 stations in Yukon and Northwest Territories
yu_fall.dat The total monthly snowfall for 33 stations in Yukon and Northwest Territories

A list of observing stations with their latitude and longitude is included in the file stations.dat. Many stations converted to Nipher snow gages during the period of record. The year and month of the change is recorded below. "No Nipher" indicates this station does not have a Nipher type snow gauge.

Station ID Station name Year Month Station ID Station name Year Month
1018620 Victoria Int'l A 1964 2 4051080 Cameo no Nipher
1113540 Hope A 1963 6 4071560 Choiceland no Nipher
1026270 Port Hardy A 1964 1 4064600 Loon Lake cda EPF no Nipher
1147620 South Slocan no Nipher 4064150 La Ronge A 1966 10
1163780 Kamloops A 1963 8 4068340 Uranium City A 1964 11
1173210 Golden no Nipher 4063560 Island Falls 1979 10
1088010 Tatlayoko Lake no Nipher 4068840 Whitesand Dam no Nipher
1051350 Cape St. James 1966 10 5010485 Brandon cda 1962 1
1160900 Blue River N. no Nipher 5023222 Winnipeg Int'l A 1953 10
1090660 Barkersville no Nipher 5022760 Sprague no Nipher
1096450 Price George A 1962 11 5052880 The Pas A 1960 11
1087950 Tahtsa Lake West no Nipher 5060520 Brochet A 1963 9
1054500 Langara 1965 11 5060600 Churchill A 1960 11
1077500 Smithers A 1963 11 5062922 Thompson A 1967 4
1183090 Germansen Landing 1963 8 5061000 Gilliam no Nipher
1192940 Fort Nelson A 1960 11 5061001 Gilliam A 1970 12
1192340 Dease Lake 1962 3 5061376 Island Lake 1970 12
2100700 Mayo A 1967 10 506B0M7 Norway House Forestry 1970 11
2100600 Fort Selkirk no Nipher 6012198 Ear Falls no Nipher
2101100 Teslin A 1965 10 6025203 Mine Centre no Nipher
2101200 Watson Lake A 1960 11 6048261 Thunder Bay A 1960 11
2200900 Coppermine 1963 10 6010738 Big Trout Lake 1963 3
2201900 Fort Reliance 1966 1 6014350 Lansdowne House 1963 3
2202200 Fort Smith A 1965 12 6040325 Armstrong A 1960 11
2202400 Hay River A 1965 9 6019548 Winish no Nipher
2202570 Inuvik A 1962 1 6057590 Sault Ste. Marie 2 no Nipher
2202680 Lady Franklin Point A no Nipher 6053570 Hornepayne no Nipher
2202800 Norman Wells A 1962 1 6075425 Moosonee 1960 11
2203910 Tuktoyaktuk no Nipher 6071712 Cochrane no Nipher
2203912 Tuktoyaktuk A 1973 10 6072225 Earlton A 1962 2
2204000 Wrigley A 1970 10 6085700 North Bay A 1960 11
2204100 Yellowknife A 1962 2 6119500 Wiarton A 1960 11
2300500 Baker Lake A 1962 10 6158655 Toronto Int'l A 1960 11
2300700 Chesterfield 1963 10 6136335 Pelee Island no Nipher
2301000 Coral Harbour A 1963 5 6133047 Grimsby no Nipher
2301100 Ennadai Lake 1963 10 6155854 Orono no Nipher
2400300 Alert 1966 6 6163156 Haliburton A no Nipher
2400654 Cape Dyer A 1963 9 7031360 Chelsea no Nipher
2400800 Clyde 1963 11 7028280 Stanstead no Nipher
2401030 Dewar Lakes no Nipher 7020560 Beauceville no Nipher
2401200 Eureka 1964 9 7010720 Berthierville no Nipher
2402300 Frobisher Bay A 1962 8 7030457 Barrage Mercier no Nipher
2402350 Hall Beach A 1965 7 7098600 Val d'Or A 1962 10
2402900 Nottingham Island no Nipher 7070451 BGEC Lac Chateavert no Nipher
2403500 Resolute A 1963 11 7060400 Bagotville A 1960 11
2403600 Resolution Island no Nipher 7055120 Mont Jole A 1962 11
2403800 Spence Bay no Nipher 7056120 Port Daniel no Nipher
2500600 Cambridge Bay A 1962 8 7052960 Grindstone Island 1963 12
2502600 Isachsen 1962 12 7095000 Mistassini Post no Nipher
2502700 Mould Bay A 1962 12 7047910 Sept-Iles A 1962 10
2503650 Sachs Harbour A 1966 5 7045400 Natashquan 1964 2
3031F5F Claresholm Meadow Creed no Nipher 7095480 Nitchequon 1963 5
3034480 Medicine Hat A 1960 11 7103536 Kuujjuarapik A 1963 9
3050520 Banff 1962 1 7117825 Schefferville A 1961 9
3025480 Red Deer A 1962 1 7103282 Inukjuak A 1963 10
3064040 Lovett Lodge no Nipher 7113534 Kuujjuaq A 1962 10
3012208 Edmonton Mun. A 1960 11 7111080 Cape Hope's Advance 1963 8
3012280 Elk Point no Nipher 8206500 Yarmouth A 1960 11
3062880 Goose Mtn. Lodge no Nipher 8205090 Shearwater A 1960 11
3070560 Beaverlodge cda 1960 11 8104900 Saint John A 1959 12
3072520 Fairview 1963 11 8300300 Charlottetown A 1963 1
3062693 Fort McMurray A 1963 1 8205700 Sydney A 1960 11
3072720 Fort Vermillion cda 1960 11 8101000 Chatham A 1961 12
4018960 Willmar no Nipher 8401200 Colinet no Nipher
4012400 Estevan A 1962 4 8401700 Gander Int'l A 1960 11
4016560 Regina 1960 11 8401300 Corner Brook no Nipher
4028040 Swift Current A 1962 9 8403800 Stephenvilles A 1967 1
4019080 Yorkton A 1964 12 8401400 Daniel's Harbour 1962 11
4057120 Sasakatoon A 1960 11 8501100 Cartwright 1963 10
4083320 Hudson Bay 1962 10 8501900 Goose A 1961 9
4045600 N. Battleford A 1962 2 8502400 Hopedale 1964 2

Parameters

Monthly snowfall total and end-of-the-month snow depth

Format

Each 97 character record within a file contains one year of data. Each record is as follows:

Station ID Yr Var January February March April May ....

Characters 7 3 3 7 7 7 7 7 7 x 7

Sample Data Record

8101000 943 49  -99999M000739 000544 000188 000000T000000 000000 000000 000000 000000 000236 000208  
8101000 944 49  000363 000846 000279 000351 000000 000000 000000 000000 000000 000015 000500 000747  
8101000 945 49  001895 001031 000363 000079 000089 000000 000000 000000 000000 000000T000267 000216  
8101000 946 49  000528 000907 000025 000653 000000T000000 000000 000000 000000 000013 000033 000528  
8101000 947 49  000269 000493 000282 000102 000000 000000 000000 000000 000000 000000T000038 000437

File Size

The entire data set is 2.16 MB.

4. Data Acquisition and Processing

Snow depth data was obtained using a snow measuring rod.

5. Data Access and Related Collections

Data Access

Data are available via FTP.

Related NSIDC Data Collections

7. Acknowledgements

This data set is maintained at NSIDC with support from the NOAA National Geophysical Data Center.

8. Document Information

Document Authors

Unknown

Document Creation Date

Unknown

Document Revision Date

In July 2006, this document was reformatted. F. Fetterer reviewed this document.

Document URL

http://nsidc.org/data/docs/noaa/g00922_canada_snowfall_depth/index.html

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