The Center for Snow and Avalanche Studies (CSAS) is home to “CODOS”, the Colorado Dust-on-Snow program, an applied science effort on behalf of Colorado and regional water management agencies. CSAS operates the Senator Beck Basin study area at Red Mountain Pass as the primary sentry site for the CODOS program. With direct funding from stakeholders, CSAS monitors the presence/absence of dust layers at 11 mountain pass locations throughout Colorado. Using those observations, data from nearby Snotel sites, and weather forecasts, the CODOS program issues a series of “Update” analyses of how dust-on-snow is likely to influence snowmelt timing and rates during the runoff season.
For a crash course on dust-on-snow read this article published in the Water Report.
5-Minute Video
2-Minute Video
Water year 2024 updates
June 1, 2024: Rising Peaks
May 16, 2024: Nexus of Land and Water - Southwest Initiative on Land Health and Water Resources
May 15, 2024: Statewide Observations May 10-13
May 8, 2024: 100mph Winds = Dust
May 1, 2024: Albedo Reset and a Bit of Precip
April 22, 2024: Statewide Observations
April 10, 2024: More Dust, Senator Beck Obs, Warm-Up Ahead
April 1, 2024: Snowcourse Day, Wee Dust
March 15, 2024: Statewide Dust-in-Snow Observations for March
March 4, 2024: Major Dust Wallop
March 1, 2024: Dust Event #1 of Season
February 15, 2024: We Needed Those Storms, Still Dust Free
January 26, 2024: Waiting for the Next Storm, Predicting Seasonal Dust-on-Snow Severity
January 3, 2024: Slow Start to Snow Season
November 30, 2023: Alpine Plant Community Survey Results, Colorado Gives Day, Snow School
September 20, 2023: “Snow School For Water Professionals”, Season Summary
Water year 2023 updates
September 5, 2023: WY2023 Season Summary
June 8, 2023: Observations from Senator Beck
June 4, 2023: Observations from Swamp Angel
June 2, 2023: Observations from Southern CODOS Sites
May 30, 2023: Snowmelt as we Head into June
May 23, 2023: Still Lot’s of Snow to Melt, Front Range Obs
May 10, 2023: Warm Up, Cool Down, Repeat
April 29, 2023: Time-Out is Over
April 21, 2023: Observations at the Southern CODOS Sites
April 17, 2023: Observations at Front Range Sites
April 6, 2023: Nature of Runoff Season Just Altered Dramatically, Land Health Thoughts
April 3, 2023: Dust Event #4, More Coming
March 24, 2023: Word For WY2023, “Epic”
March 18, 2023: CODOS Tour Observations - Lot’s O’Snow, Min Dust
March 10, 2023: A Tad Bit More Dust, Storms Coming In
March 1, 2023: March 1 Update, Dust Enhanced Runoff Classification, Current Conditions, Looking Towards Spring
February 26, 2023: Big Storm, Mild Dust
February 17, 2023: Snowpack Update
February 1, 2023: Workshop Information & Zoom Link
January 18, 2023: Crazy Storm Cycle, Workshop Reminder
December 5, 2022: Snow School, CO Gives Day, Storm Reports
November 17, 2022: “Snow School For Water Professionals” this February 8-10
WatER YEAR 2022 UPDATEs
August 15, 2022: WY2022 Season Summary
June 30, 2022: Microplastics in Dust-on-Snow Samples Across Colorado Mountains
May 27, 2022: May CODOS Observations
May 14, 2022: Peaks Ahead
May 10, 2022: Another Day, Another Dust Event
May 6, 2022: Buckle-Up
April 30, 2022: Albedo Nosedive, More Wind/Dust in Forecast
April 25, 2022: More Dust (#7) with Precip, Warm Up thru the Week
April 21, 2022: Statewide Obs, Dust Widespread, at/near Surface
April 14, 2022: Dust Like You Read About
April 8, 2022: Swampy Obs, Warm-up then Wind & Precip
April 2, 2022: Brief Update
March 18, 2022: March CODOS Tour-The Good, Bad, and the Ugly
March 6, 2022: More Dust (#3)
March 2, 2022: March 1 Dust Enhanced Runoff Classification, Current Conditions
February 24, 2022: 3” of Precip & Big Dose of Dust
February 9, 2022: Snowpack in Stasis, Wx Shift Coming?
January 21, 2022: Importance of AR’s in Colorado, Workshop Reminder
January 7, 2022: Real-Time SWE from 12,200’, Anyone?
November 19, 2021: Dust/Snow/Flow in the Rio Grande Workshop
WatER YEAR 2021 UPDATES
July 27, 2021: WY2021 Season Summary
June 3, 2021: Snow Near Gone at SASP, High Elevation Melt to Follow
May 27, 2021: Last Couple Weeks of Snowmelt
May 23, 2021: Major Dust Event
May 16, 2021: CODOS Tour Observations May 13 - May 15
May 7, 2021: General Observations II
May 1, 2021: Snowpack Status, Get to Know the Unc and Other Watersheds
April 23, 2021: General Observations
April 16, 2021: Significant Dust Statewide, Another Dust Event April 14
April 10, 2021: Dry, Hot, and Dusty
March 30, 2021: Dust Event #4 Hit Last Night
March 25, 2021: March Dust Tour Part II - Central and Southern Sites
March 22, 2021: March Dust Tour Part I, New Dust Event at Senator Beck
March 11, 2021: Dust Event #2 Observed
March 1, 2021: March 1 Dust Enhanced Runoff Classification, Current Conditions
February 11, 2021: CSAS Survey, Snowpack So Far, Sahara Dust in Europe
January 29, 2021: State of the Snowpack, Minimal Dust
December 22, 2020: State of the Snowpack, WWA’s User Guide, Happy Holidays
November 24, 2020: Winter Outlook, Dust Event #1, WY2021 Research in Senator Beck, Colorado Gives
Data
Dust Enhanced Runoff Classification (new for 2015)
About CODOS