High-tech weather station installed at ski resort

A new automated weather station on the summit of Big Mountain is poised to bring skiers, meteorologists and avalanche forecasters up-to-the-minute conditions this winter.

The SNOTEL site will provide real-time updates on snow depth, snow-water equivalent, wind speed, air temperature and other critical weather data.

Whitefish Mountain Resort spokeswoman Riley Polumbus says the weather station will fill a large data-gap in mountain weather forecasting.

Currently the closest SNOTEL sites to Big Mountain are at Stahl Peak in the upper Whitefish Range and Flattop Mountain in Glacier National Park. The nearest weather station, situated on the valley floor, is at Glacier Park International Airport.

Data acquired from these sites often aren’t pertinent to weather conditions on Big Mountain, Polumbus said.

Whitefish Mountain Resort has been using a commercial-grade weather station at the summit that was unreliable, at best.

“It gave us wind speed, sometimes, and temperature, sometimes,” Polumbus said. “It would get iced over and eventually we just gave up.”

The new state-of-the-art weather station has the ability to provide updates on the half hour that will be posted on the resort’s website.

“If it’s snowing in the middle of the night, people will know exactly how much,” Polumbus said.

While the data will be useful for powder hounds and resort personnel, it also will be helpful in avalanche forecasting.

“Avalanche forecasters will benefit from having a closer look at what’s going on,” Polumbus said. She notes the site’s ability to determine snow-water equivalency, important information for avalanche specialists.

The National Weather Service also will have access to the data.

A few groups came together to make the weather center a reality.

The Northern Rockies Avalanche Safety Workshop made a $5,000 contribution, while the BNSF Foundation chipped in a $5,000 grant.

Whitefish Mountain Resort also donated funds and will provide power, Ethernet and access to the site, while the Flathead Avalanche Center will maintain the station.

This summer, volunteers helped install the weather station on a structure just below the top terminal of Chair 1.

“It’s really awesome how everyone pitched in,” Polumbus said.

The resort is currently testing the site and hopes to have the weather data online before ski season.

The summit snow stake will continue to be used as back-up and for historical purposes, Polumbus said.