Snow Load Calculations for Alaska Using GHCN Data (1950–2017)

Abstract

This paper presents the results of snow load calculations in Alaska based on measurements of snow depth and snow water equivalent from 1950 to 2017 acquired from the Global Historical Climate Network (GHCN). After cleaning and validation of data, snow depth and snow water equivalent values were analyzed to find the best statistical distribution using several numerical criteria and visual assessment of the best fit. The best-fit distributions were then compared with the lognormal distribution and used to calculate the 50-year mean recurrence intervals. The relationships between snow depth and snow water equivalent were analyzed. Regression models were built for both the best-fit and lognormal distributions. Finally, these regression equations were used to estimate snow water equivalent for stations where only snow depth was recorded.