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<br />Conclusions from the Precipitation Analysis <br /> <br />General Observations <br /> <br />· The precipitation amounts on the snow pillow for Snotel observation is <br />exposed to drifting and, extended periods of evaporation. <br />Consequently, observations for the Non-seeded and total data sets are <br />likely less than what actually occurred. <br /> <br />· The Snotel reads precipitation amounts only in tenths of an .inch.. Most <br />other precipitation amounts are recorded in hundredths of an inch. <br />Consequently, this would also tend to underestimate the total <br />precipitation that occurred. Single day precipitation events would have <br />least accurate amounts and multiple day events would have more <br />accurate amounts recorded. <br /> <br />· The Ski Area observations have a degree of inconsistency in <br />observation times (ranging from 4:00am to 1:00pm) which could effect <br />the amount recorded for a single day event, especially if significant <br />precipitation is occurring near the observation time. In general, the Ski <br />Area precipitation observations are more representative of the daily <br />precipitation totals, by measuring to the nearest hundredth of an inch <br />. of water eCluivalent, and. they also give snow densities. . . <br /> <br />Results of Snotel Observations <br /> <br />· An evaluation of. the winter's precipitation during seeded periods <br />indicates a 15.6% average increase in the observed precipitation at the <br />Vail Ski Area compared to what was likely to have occurred. <br /> <br />· An evaluation of the total seeded days of precipitation over the region <br />indicated a 24.5% increase in the precipitation observed at Vail over <br />what was expected to have occurred. <br /> <br />· An evaluation of the precipitation on days with no seeding activities <br />indicated that the Vail Area had. an 8% greater amount of precipitation <br />that would have been expected. This could be explained by re- <br />adjusting our process to estimate the precipitation values for the Vail <br />Area or that Vail is situated in an ideal precipitation environment. In <br />