The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1909-04-28
SNOW GAUGING
IN THE ROCKIES
Weather Bureau Is Establish
ing Over Twenty Stations in
Utah to Collect Data.
AID TO DRY FARMERS
GOVERNMENT FINDS MEANS TO
COLLECT STATISTICS.

Feeling that every aid should De Civ
en- homesteaders and other pioneers and
land builders of the country. tire United
states government has inaugurated a
system OF SNOW gauging stations.
The establishment of these station IS
now going On under the direction of the
officials Of the weather bureau service
Stations for measuring the amourt Of
snowfall each year will be established
in all mountainous parts IF the country,
but the most important and valuable
stations viii be esta blished in the Rocky
mountains The amount Of snowfall IN
the Rocky mountains determines the
amount of water in many of the pTinci-
pie streams Of the country, and also has
A bearing on the food conditions which
cause no end Of trouble and thousands
Of dollars worth Of damage in the mid
die west states each spring.
The great Rocky mountains act as
vast reservoirs, and the snowfall each
year has much to do with the success CT
failure of the large irrigation projects
which are developing from time to time
With snow piled high in the mountains
the farmer is assured of plenty of wa
ter to irrigate his crops during tine
spring and summer. but 81 the ranges
show only snowcapped peaks with small
drifts in the valleys and gullles. ;he
farmers Of the west realize tha- every
drop of water is valuable and must be
taken care Of At the present time the
farmer in the west and die citizens of
the middle west have no accurate
method Of finding out how much snow
is stored away in the mountain depths,
and il is TO furnish this information
Of
stations is in progress.
One Hundred Stations.
The first estimate sent out by the de-
partment of agriculture on the estab-
lishment of these stations called for at
least 100 stations in each Of the states
in the Rocky mountain region. This
estimate was. of course but little more
than preliminary, and the number of
stations in each state viii 10 doubt Se
increased or lessened before the system
Is complete 1t is for the keeping Of
accurate records of snowfall that these
stations are being installed BY The gov
eminent. Records will be kent and
statistics will be made up each wear so
that the people of the Mississippi river
valley viii know each year whether the
Hood dangers are at maximum or a
minimum
The dry farmer of the west. tca. viii
not have to depend on guesSWCr1 as 10
the amount of water that will be avail
able for irrigation purposes. Great
water power projects which are rapid
~ increasing in number each year in
the west. which i'm some instances are
greater than the plants at Niagara. will
have accurate records uDon which 20
base their estimates. and viii know how
IN faHH 81 H. Ii
projects and enterprises
Mere Than Twenty in Utah.
DIT r. J. Hyatt, director Of he United
states weather bureau for this district.
has planned more than twenty snow
sauglng stations i'm Ttan since the wori,
was first commenced last fall. Many
more stations are projected. but on ac-
count Of the late start made in getting
This work under way. only a few sta
ions could be established last winter.
Many places in the mountains where
stations are desired thc snow is forty
OF nifty feet deep. and not until late in
May or June viii il be possible for
workmen to erect the stations and in
stall the needed instruments. In CoIo-
rtado thirty stations have been estab-
Ished during the last winter under the
direction Of F. Il. Brandenberg. direc-
tor of the district of Colorado
observer Church Of the local weather
ONCE said that the snow bin has been
determined as the best means of meas
uring the actual amount of snowfall
The bin is FIVE feet square and live feet
oeep, built on stills ten feet above the
ground. BY means Of a snow scale on
the inside of the box the amount of
snowfall can be easily determined.
The work of installing the SNOW,
measuring stations and the maintain
ing and reading Of the stations is aided
in a great many ways by the employees
OF the forest service and geological sur
Ney- These two services are co-operat-
ing with the weather bureau. and tho
establishment of the stations is being
done at low cost. This is possible. as
all the work of the forest service men
and geological survey is part of their
new duties. and without additional ex-
pense. Forest rangers take measure
Of snowfalls on the forest reserves and
make reports as often as possible In
some instances reports are not avail
able more than once d month. and
sometimes not that often.
Public Bulletins.
Not only Will the weather bureau
give out public bulletins regarding the
amount of snowfall from time to time.
hut will keep the people posted as TO
the condition OF the snow in the me "