Simulation of snow cover formation and melt with publication of the output data on the web map service (on the example of Kama river basin)

Abstract

It is performed an assessment of the use of daily precipitation forecasts of global numerical weather prediction (NWP) models GFS (U.S.), GEM (Canada), SLAV (Russia) and ICON (Germany) as input data for snow accumulation and melt modelling in the Kama river basin for two cold seasons. It is shown, that maximum snow water equivalent (SWE) calculated on the basis of NWP models output has an error less than 27% of the measured values, in the conditions of 2017-2018 snow accumulation season. However, this is preliminary assessment, which requires verification by several seasons. It is rather difficult to conclude which model provides highest accuracy of SWE calculation, because each of them has its specific limitations. In 2018-2019 cold season, we additionally obtained ICON model data, which provides the most accurate forecast of precipitation. The simulated SWE and meltwater outflow data are published on the online web map service.