Show HN: SnowSignals – On-the-Ground Snow Forecasting

3 points by richhwang 6 hours ago

Hi HN, I’m Richard, and I built SnowSignals - the on-the-ground snow forecast to help skiers figure out when and where to ski great snow.

Most forecasts focus on upcoming snowfall, but as a weekend warrior I'm not on the mountain most powder days. What matters more to me is playing the hand I’m dealt and making the most of what’s already on the ground.

SnowSignals is the on-the-ground snow forecast built on a physics simulation. We integrate weather observations and forecasts into energy fluxes to model physical processes on the surface of the snow over time. In other words, avoid those ice sheet zones at 9AM, corn snow will be ready at 11AM, and apres starts at 1PM - all given current weather conditions.

I’ve had a ton of fun making this and hope you find it useful. While it’s worked well for the days we’ve been out, it's very much an MVP - feedback is greatly appreciated! Happy to answer questions or dive more into how it works.

Note: we're primarily focused on California right now as that's our home base and we're blessed with great spring skiing, but let me know if you'd like support for your area