About SnowView

SnowView was born out of a simple frustration: before every snowboard trip, I found myself checking five different websites to piece together whether conditions were actually worth the drive. SNOTEL data on one site, forecasts on another, resort reports that are always optimistic — none of it in one place, and none of it scored in a way that helps you make a decision.

So I built the tool I wanted. SnowView aggregates real data from federal monitoring stations and weather services, runs it through a scoring model, and gives you one number per resort. No marketing spin — just data.

How It Works

1

Data Ingestion

A Python ETL pipeline pulls daily observations from ~230 SNOTEL stations across California, Colorado, and Washington via the USDA NRCS AWDB API. It also ingests 7-day forecasts from the NOAA National Weather Service API for each resort location.

2

Spatial Processing

Each resort is linked to its nearest SNOTEL stations using PostGIS spatial queries, weighted by both distance and elevation similarity. Raw station data is transformed into resort-level metrics through weighted averages.

3

Condition Scoring

A composite scoring model (0-100) evaluates each resort based on recent snowfall (30%), snow depth (25%), forecast outlook (20%), snowpack trend (15%), and temperature (10%). Each score includes a plain-language explanation of what's driving it.

4

Delivery

Results are served through a FastAPI backend and exported as GeoJSON for the map. The frontend uses ArcGIS Maps SDK for JavaScript to render an interactive map with score-coded markers, detail panels, and resort comparison tools.

Data Sources

SNOTEL

USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service

Snow depth, snow water equivalent, precipitation, and temperature from ~800 automated stations across the western US.

National Weather Service

NOAA

Gridded weather forecasts including projected snowfall, temperature, and wind speed, updated multiple times daily.

Tech Stack

Frontend

Next.js · TypeScript · Tailwind CSS · ArcGIS Maps SDK for JavaScript

Backend

FastAPI · Python · PostGIS · PostgreSQL

Data Pipeline

SNOTEL AWDB API · NOAA NWS API · Scheduled ETL · GeoJSON Export

Infrastructure

AWS EC2 · Vercel · ArcGIS Online Feature Service

Coverage

SnowView currently tracks 30 resorts across three states, with data from 232 SNOTEL monitoring stations. Coverage depends on SNOTEL station availability — some areas (like Southern California) have limited monitoring infrastructure.

10

California

12

Colorado

8

Washington