Collect snow data and related environmental parameters for streamflow forecasting. Locations: Sixty one (61), see http://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/snotel/Alaska/alaska. Main gaps: Lack of resources for equipment and staff. Access to potential observing sites is limited, and disallowed in some cases, due to land status or their location in public lands designated and/or proposed as wilderness areas.
Snow water equivalent (SWE), snow depth, total precipitation, air temperature, solar radiation, relative humidity, barometric pressure, wind speed and direction, soil moisture/soil temperature.
Natural Resources Conservation Service, US Dept of Agriculture (NRCS)