Go Back
  • For Business
  • |
  • Warnings
  • Data Suite
  • Newsletters
  • Advertising
  • Superior Accuracy™
A week after deadly Texas flooding, hope fades but resilience grows. Get the latest Chevron right
Recovery teams, displaced residents in Texas face brutal heat. Get the forecast Chevron right

Columbus, OH

85°F
Location Chevron down
Location News Videos
Use Current Location
Recent

Columbus

Ohio

85°
No results found.
Try searching for a city, zip code or point of interest.
settings
Columbus, OH Weather
Today WinterCast Local {stormName} Tracker Hourly Daily Radar MinuteCast Monthly Air Quality Health & Activities

Around the Globe

Hurricane Tracker

Severe Weather

Radar & Maps

News

News & Features

Astronomy

Business

Climate

Health

Recreation

Sports

Travel

For Business

Warnings

Data Suite

Newsletters

Advertising

Superior Accuracy™

Video

Winter Center

AccuWeather Early Hurricane Center Top Stories Trending Today Astronomy Heat Climate Health Recreation In Memoriam Case Studies Blogs & Webinars

News / Weather News

Father of snow science: The legacy that lives on more than a century later

By Lauren Fox, AccuWeather staff writer

Updated Dec 17, 2021 1:09 PM EDT

Copied

In California and other parts of the West, the fresh water that is provided through snowpack provides clean drinking water, renewable forms of energy and a healthy ecosystem, and one man is responsible for the way the water in that snowpack is measured, even more than 100 years after he introduced the method.

Each year, the state's Department of Water Resources conducts a water survey and compares it to years prior. Last month's water survey found below-average precipitation across the entire state.

"Meteorologists use snow-to-liquid ratios frequently during the winter season when determining accurate snowfall amounts," AccuWeather Meteorologist Brett Rossio said. "It helps us more accurately forecast precise snowfall totals."

The process of measuring water content in snowpack was invented by professor James E. Church and dates back to the early 1900s and the "Lake Tahoe Water Wars," according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).

A photo of James E. Church, who was labeled the 'father of snow science' for inventing the first tool for measuring snow-water equivalent, taken in 1920. (Photo/University of Reno, Nevada)

At the time, homeowners surrounding Lake Tahoe in the Sierra Nevada were at odds with each other over when dam operators should release water from the lake.

Residents living on the banks of Lake Tahoe routinely faced destruction to their property as a result of flooding when the snow began to melt, and they wanted the operators of the dam to release water earlier to prevent the flooding. In contrast, residents living upstream feared that releasing the dam earlier would leave them with a dry spring and summer.

Church realized that if he were able to somehow measure the amount of water content in the snow, he would be able to determine when the dams would need to be released to efficiently serve everyone's needs and ultimately solve the conflict between the residents living at different points around Lake Tahoe.

At this point, he had his plan, but there was no such invention that was able to measure water content in snowpack -- he had to invent it himself.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP

Despite creating his invention more than a century ago, the design was so good it is "nearly indistinguishable" from what people use to measure the water content of snow in the modern day, according to the NRCS.

In 1908, Church also established snow courses when he decided to compare his snow-water measurements to the fluctuating levels of Lake Tahoe. The method quickly became popular and spread throughout the western United States.

Snow courses are designated areas, typically an open field, where snow surveyors can take measurements. Having a specified area for the measurements allows the surveyors to be more consistent with measurements.

Class picture from the first snow school held in 1950. (Photo/NRCS)

Information Officer for the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) Chris Orrock said the ability to measure snowpack each year provides the state with the ability to compare the measurements to those of any other year prior.

"Especially in California, we see the extremes," he told AccuWeather. "And what we've seen especially over the last couple of years is an extreme."

Orrock explained that even just month to month, the state of California is seeing extremes in opposite directions back to back. For example, December 2019 was the wettest December California's DWR has seen in 10 years. Just two months later, February 2020 ended up being the driest February on record for the state.

"We're seeing these giant roller-coaster swings from wet to dry and back again," Orrock said. This year and last have been particularly dry for California. He said the 2020 and 2021 timeframe is the second driest two-year period in California's recorded history.

The DWR conducts its fourth manual snow survey at Phillips Station snow course in El Dorado County on April 1, 2021. (Photo/California Department of Water Resources)

"Normally, when the snow starts to melt, we see it roll into our rivers and streams and flow down to the reservoirs," he said. "Well, this year because the ground is so dry, we're seeing a lot more and a very high percentage of it absorbing into that dry ground and not making it into the rivers and streams for water usage."

To cut down on water usage when it is scarce, the DWR works with local farmers and ranchers to figure out ways they can limit unnecessary water use.

Residential water use is a small portion of the overall water supply, but residents of the state still chip in during droughts by making small adjustments to daily activities, such as not running sprinklers, dishwashers and washing machines every day, by taking shorter showers and turning off the faucet when brushing teeth or shaving.

"We learned a lot [of] lessons from the last drought," Orrock said. "And the residents of California in the last drought really stepped up."

According to Greg Fall, a physical scientist for the National Weather Service's Office of Water Prediction, innovation in snow survey information is not over.

"We will be incorporating snow survey information in the future into something called the National Water model, which is sort of a continental scale effort to perform water prediction," he explained.

"Furthermore, we're hoping that new developments in radar technology and in LIDAR technology will also be able to provide us with new methods that can be operationalized."

Church's invention changed life for the residents surrounding Lake Tahoe, but his contributions did not end there. Church later traveled the world as the leading snow survey consultant, guiding a group of scientists who learned from him and were referred to as the "Church Boys."

The Church Boys became the first, but certainly not the last, generation of snow surveyors.

MORE TO EXPLORE:

How to stop glasses from fogging up while wearing a mask in winter
Drone footage shows spectacular view of ghost town frozen in time
Snow was so deep, city had to dump it off bridges
Terrifying video shows why snow squalls are so dangerous

For the latest weather news, check back on AccuWeather.com. Watch the AccuWeather Network on DIRECTV, Frontier, Spectrum, fuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios. AccuWeather Now is now available on your preferred streaming platform.and Verizon Fios.

Report a Typo
Comments that don't add to the conversation may be automatically or manually removed by Facebook or AccuWeather. Profanity, personal attacks, and spam will not be tolerated.
Comments
Hide Comments

Weather News

video

'By far the biggest one we've had:' Extreme flood slams disaster-stric...

Jul. 9, 2025
Weather News

Death toll climbs to 120 in Texas floods as search continues for 170 m...

Jul. 10, 2025
video

Before-and-after pictures show devastation caused by Texas floods

Jul. 9, 2025
Weather News

The faces of the Texas flooding tragedy

Jul. 7, 2025
Severe Weather

Severe weather to rumble in the central US through the holiday weekend

Jul. 6, 2025
Weather News

Record sargassum seaweed piles up on Caribbean islands, Gulf

Jul. 2, 2025
Weather News

Alabama teen in ICU after lightning strike hits boat, causing burns an...

Jul. 2, 2025
Show more Show less Chevron down

Topics

AccuWeather Early

Hurricane Center

Top Stories

Trending Today

Astronomy

Heat

Climate

Health

Recreation

In Memoriam

Case Studies

Blogs & Webinars

Top Stories

Weather Forecasts

Texas Hill Country recovery, cleanup teams to face brutal July weather

49 minutes ago

Weather News

State inspection before floods found Camp Mystic had emergency plan

5 hours ago

Weather News

Deadly flash flooding devastates wildfire-scarred New Mexico town

5 hours ago

Astronomy

1st full moon of summer to rise Thursday night

1 day ago

Weather News

Most Texas flood victims face devastation without flood insurance

3 hours ago

More Stories

Featured Stories

AccuWeather Ready

Floodwater rising in your house? Do this

1 day ago

Weather News

US Coast Guard rescue swimmer hailed as a hero after saving 165 kids f...

1 day ago

Weather News

Earthquake swarm detected at Mount Rainier, biggest since 2009

4 hours ago

Travel

FAA investigating part of a Delta Air Lines wing fell onto a driveway

6 days ago

Weather News

An ambitious vision of a city built from lava

3 days ago

AccuWeather Weather News Father of snow science: The legacy that lives on more than a century later
Company
Proven Superior Accuracy About AccuWeather Digital Advertising Careers Press Contact Us
Products & Services
For Business For Partners For Advertising AccuWeather APIs AccuWeather Connect RealFeel® and RealFeel Shade™ Personal Weather Stations
Apps & Downloads
iPhone App Android App See all Apps & Downloads
Subscription Services
AccuWeather Premium AccuWeather Professional
More
AccuWeather Ready Business Health Hurricane Leisure and Recreation Severe Weather Space and Astronomy Sports Travel Weather News Winter Center
Company
Proven Superior Accuracy About AccuWeather Digital Advertising Careers Press Contact Us
Products & Services
For Business For Partners For Advertising AccuWeather APIs AccuWeather Connect RealFeel® and RealFeel Shade™ Personal Weather Stations
Apps & Downloads
iPhone App Android App See all Apps & Downloads
Subscription Services
AccuWeather Premium AccuWeather Professional
More
AccuWeather Ready Business Health Hurricane Leisure and Recreation Severe Weather Space and Astronomy Sports Travel Weather News Winter Center
© 2025 AccuWeather, Inc. "AccuWeather" and sun design are registered trademarks of AccuWeather, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Cookie Policy | About Your Privacy Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information

...

...

...