(Q) What is the difference between a Free and All-Access account?

The following features are available to free accounts:

  • Email Storm Updates
  • Favorite Ski Resort List
  • 24-Hour Snow Reports
  • Daily Snow Summary
  • 1-10 Day Snow Forecast Summary
  • 10-Day Weather Forecasts
  • Mountain Cams
  • Snow Report Alerts
  • Avalanche Forecasts

With the All-Access subscription, you receive:

  • 10-Day Snow Forecasts
  • 5-Day Hourly Forecasts
  • Expert "Daily Snow" Forecasters
  • Custom Snow Alerts
  • Current & Forecast Radar
  • Forecasts Anywhere on Earth
  • Historical Weather
  • Estimated 24-Hour Snow Reports
  • Estimated 24-Hour Snowfall Map
  • Estimated Season-to-Date Snowfall
  • Estimated Snow Depth Map
  • Cloud Cover Map
  • Wind Gust Map
  • Temperature Map
  • Wildfire Smoke Forecast Maps
  • Real-Time Lightning Map
  • Favorite & Offline Trail Maps
  • Favorite & Timelapse Cams
  • Snowpack Graphs & Analysis
  • Offline Satellite & Terrain Maps
  • iOS Widgets
  • Nearby Weather Stations

The essential weather tools to help you plan your next adventure, all in one app.

(Q) What is the difference between the Single and Group subscriptions?

All-Access Single

  • 1 Subscription
  • 1 Person
  • $31.99 USD per year

All-Access Group

  • 1 Subscription
  • 4 People
  • $49.99 USD per year

Once you sign up for the Group plan, invite three friends or family members. They will have their own account and can set up their own list of favorite mountains, custom snow alerts, and more.

(Q) How do you calculate the snow forecast summary?

We calculate the snow forecast summary by taking the snow forecast for the previous night + the current day. The summary calculation is shown this way since this is the snow that you would see/ski on that day.

Example: The snow forecast summary has 12 inches for Friday.

  • Thursday Night = 5-9 inches = 7 inches
  • Friday Day = 3-7 inches = 5 inches

Friday Summary = 12 inches

(Q) How do you make your forecasts?

The forecasts on OpenSnow are updated every hour with a proprietary blend of global data from the GFS (American), GDPS (Canadian), and ICON (German) weather models, along with high-resolution data from the HRRR (American) and HRDPS (Canadian) weather models.

The benefits of this approach include:

  • Proprietary algorithm to improve the snow-to-liquid ratio, precipitation, temperature, and wind speed calculations for cold, mountain environments.
  • Provides the ability to create a forecast for any location (and elevation) to ensure that we are forecasting conditions on the mountain and not for a nearby town.
  • An improved method for calculating the snow level (elevation that separates rain from snow) to provide a more realistic forecast, especially at the beginning of storms and during times of intense snowfall.
  • Blending multiple global and high-resolution models increases accuracy and confidence in the forecast.
This blend of proprietary forecast data is updated every hour on OpenSnow for any location, worldwide.

(Q) What weather forecast data is available on OpenSnow?

The weather data on OpenSnow can be viewed as hourly forecasts for the next 5 days and day/night forecasts for the next 10 days.

Hourly:

  • Snow Forecast
  • Snow Ratio
  • Snow Level (Rain/Snow Elevation)
  • Precipitation Chance
  • Precipitation Forecast
  • Temperature
  • Feels Like Temperature
  • Relative Humidity
  • Wind Direction, Speed, & Gust
  • Cloud Cover
Day & Night:

  • Weather Alerts
  • Snow Forecast
  • Snow Ratio
  • Snow Level (Rain/Snow Elevation)
  • Precipitation Chance
  • Precipitation Forecast
  • Temperature
  • Feels Like Temperature
  • Relative Humidity
  • Wind Direction, Speed, & Gust
  • Cloud Cover
(Q) How do you break up the day and night 10-day forecast?

The "day" forecast is from 6 am to 6 pm, while the "night" forecast is from 6 pm to 6 am.

(Q) What do the different colored alerts signal?

Daily alerts are included to signal upcoming powder days, along with the potential for rain, snow/rain, and high winds. Alert breakdown:

  • Orange = Powder (Forecast of 6+ inches from the previous night and current day)
  • Green = Rain (Expect rain on all of the mountain)
  • Purple = Snow/Rain (Expect a transition from snow to rain on the mountain)
  • Yellow = Wind (Wind gusts greater than 45 mph and possible lift closures)

(Q) What is the difference between the blue, orange, and purple snow forecast bars?

  • Blue bars show snowfall under 6 inches.
  • Orange bars show snowfall over 6 inches.
  • Purple bars indicate mixed precip (rain/snow).
The color change from blue to orange is a simple visual clue to denote the higher snow totals and deeper powder potential.