Snow is more than frozen water. It’s a regulator of climate and weather. Its bright surface reflects much of the sun’s energy back to space, helping keep regional and even global temperatures cooler. As snowpacks accumulate and melt, they smooth the annual water cycle, delaying runoff that might otherwise arrive as damaging winter rain and early floods. Less snow or an earlier melt alter local temperatures, storm tracks and soil moisture, feeding back on heat waves, drought and heavy rainfall. All of that’s why careful snow tracking is essential to understanding our rapidly changing climate.

Snow in the Catskills and Adirondacks is among the most valuable resources of these regions, and we’re rapidly learning to understand it with your help through the X‑Snow project. When local residents step outside with a simple ruler or a smartphone to measure snow in their backyard, they’re helping scientists, water managers and communities to safeguard drinking water, winter jobs and the future of mountain towns across New York State.

Snow is a natural reservoir that stores winter precipitation and releases it slowly through spring and summer, stabilizing river flows and helping prevent both early-season flooding and late-summer water shortages. In the Catskills, not only does this provide strong local benefits, it also feeds the network of reservoirs that supplies about 91 percent of New York City’s drinking water – roughly 460 billion gallons stored in upstate reservoirs connected by gravity-fed tunnels. In the Adirondacks, snowmelt sustains the headwaters of major river systems that support communities, farms and ecosystems far downstream.​

When snow properties or timing change, everything built on top of the reservoir changes too. Less snow or earlier melt alters how much water arrives in reservoirs, when it arrives and how clean it is, with implications for treatment costs, hydropower potential and the reliability of water supplies during hotter, drier summers. Moreover, the sudden release of meltwater can increase hazards associated with landslides and flooding and can have a big impact on the local skiing industry. 

The economics riding on snow

For many Catskills and Adirondacks communities winter is an economic engine that relies on snow. Skiing, snowboarding, snowmobiling and snowshoeing fill hotels, restaurants, gear shops and gas stations, generating revenue statewide and supporting thousands of jobs from lift operators to line cooks. A recent analysis of ski areas in New York estimated total economic output from downhill snow sports at about $1.3 billion in a single season, including more than 13,000 year‑round equivalent jobs.

As winters warm, the number of days with below‑freezing temperatures in parts of the Catskills is projected to drop by up to 30 to 50 days by mid‑century, directly reducing the length and reliability of the snow season. That shrinkage ripples through local budgets, tax revenues and family incomes, particularly in rural towns where winter tourism is one of the largest employers. Understanding exactly where, when, and how fast snow is changing is both a scientific and an economic necessity.

Why satellites can’t do this alone

NASA satellites already track snow across the globe, estimating how much area is covered, how reflective it is, and in some cases how much water it holds. But East Coast snow is tricky. Dense forests, rolling hills and frequent clouds make it hard for satellite instruments to see the snow surface clearly, and many of the algorithms used today were designed and tested over Western mountains, not the Catskills and Adirondacks. As a result, satellite maps can misjudge how much snow is on the ground here, especially in forests, deep ravines or areas where snow is patchy.

That’s where X‑Snow and the citizens come in. The project, supported by NASA’s Citizen Science for Earth Systems Program and led from Columbia University’s Lamont‑Doherty Earth Observatory, aims to dramatically increase the number of on‑the‑ground measurements of snow in the Catskills and Adirondacks by working with local residents, schools and community groups. Simple measurements of snow depth, snow type and how bright or “shiny” the snow is are used to check and improve satellite products, making them more accurate for our region and, by extension, for regions with similar landscapes.

Your snow, your science

The heart of X‑Snow is citizen science, the idea that anyone, regardless of formal training, can contribute directly to research that matters. Volunteers are trained by scientists and local partners such as the Catskill Center and the Wild Center to follow straightforward protocols using tools that range from readily available supplies including rulers, thermometers and smartphones to kits to check out with measuring devices and  lenses to photograph snowflakes. At its most basic, participation can mean stepping into your yard after a storm, pushing a ruler straight down into the snow, collecting a temperature, snapping a photo and uploading it with your location and the time.

For those who want to go further, X‑Snow offers tiers of engagement such as short “transects” of repeated measurements along a trail, tubes to measure snow density for water content or images that capture how snow crystals change shape as temperatures rise and fall. These local data points are then combined with satellite observations and, in some cases, drone flights to create a much sharper, more reliable picture of the region’s snow and its water content.​

From backyard rulers to policy decisions

The power of citizen science lies not just in the quantity of data, but also in where and when it can be collected. A small professional team can’t possibly measure snow at thousands of locations every time a storm passes, especially in remote forests or on private land. A distributed network of residents can. When dozens or hundreds of people measure snow depth during the same storm, scientists can map how snowfall varies across valleys, ridges, open fields, and dense woods. That’s the sort of detail needed to refine models that inform water managers and emergency planners.

Better snow data feeds directly into decisions that affect everyday life. Improved estimates of snow water equivalent help New York City and upstate utilities anticipate reservoir inflows, plan releases that reduce flood risk downstream and prepare for summer droughts. More accurate projections of future snow seasons help ski areas and winter businesses evaluate investments in snowmaking, diversify their offerings and advocate for policies that support communities facing shorter winters.

A community science project for a changing winter

The X‑Snow project is rooted in local institutions such as visitor centers, schools, museums and community groups that already connect people to the land and to each other. Workshops, classroom activities and field days turn snowstorms into hands-on learning moments, especially for students who may be encountering climate science not in a textbook but in the crunch of snow under their boots. By inviting residents of all ages to become “snow data heroes,” X‑Snow builds personal snow knowledge and a deeper sense of ownership over what’s happening to winters in their home mountains.

At a time when climate change can feel abstract or overwhelming, measuring snow offers something grounded and empowering. The simple act of reading a ruler in your driveway becomes a way to contribute to NASA science, to protect drinking water for millions and to support the economies of Catskills and Adirondacks communities that depend on snow. X‑Snow isn’t just about understanding snow. It’s about giving people the tools to understand and help shape the future of the places they love.