China Meteorological News correspondent Liu Jianping, Wang Zhimin and Li Chaohua reported that at 14:00 on November 25, the national first ultrasonic snow depth automatic monitoring system demonstration construction project was successfully completed at the meteorological bureau of Ping山县 County in Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province, and put into trial operation. This is the first one in the national meteorological industry.
The snow depth automatic monitoring station realizes real-time and continuous automatic measurement of solid (liquid) precipitation and snow depth, filling another blank in meteorological automatic observation, which will improve the real-time monitoring of snowfall and the early warning ability of snow disasters. It can be widely used in traffic early warning, agricultural snow disaster early warning and other aspects, and will provide promotion experience for the construction of other 21 stations in Hebei Province, playing a demonstrative role.
It is understood that when there is snow on the ground, the ultrasonic snow depth meter can measure the distance from the snow surface to the ultrasonic snow depth meter. The difference between the two distances can calculate the snow depth on the ground, and then through wired or wireless means, the real-time snow depth data measured is sent to the meteorological service center to provide timely and accurate services for the public.
For a long time, the observation of snowfall and snow depth required manual operation; there were insufficient points within the region. After snowfall, at 08:00 every day, three measurements need to be taken with a snow gauge at the observation site, and their average value is calculated. The observational data has poor real-time performance, large measurement errors, and insufficient data, making it difficult to meet the needs of emergency meteorological services. The ultrasonic snow depth automatic monitoring station has the characteristics of accurate measurement, high stability, and convenient installation and maintenance. It can be used for networked monitoring with a large number of points within the region, and can also be installed in places where observers cannot work long-term to replace manual observation. The data has strong real-time performance, can be reported by minutes or hours, and compared with manual observation, the data is more comprehensive and accurate.