Is current winter a typical ? How much snow is in Europe, or in my country ? Where is the snow ?

Information presented on this website - i.e. the snow cover map for Europe (above) and plots of snow cover extent (below) - will help you to answer those questions. The information results from satellite monitoring of climate conditions in Poland (and Europe), conducted by Earth Observation Group at Space Research Centre of the Polish Academy of Sciences (CBK PAN).

Presented analysis are based on satellite observations, provided by NOAA Interactive Multisensor Snow and Ice Mapping System (IMS). They are daily updated and report snow cover conditions during current winter season (from July to June). On this website you may also find a historical data for past winters and a climatological averages. Based on them you can independently assess how much current winter differs from a typical one.

Why do we care about the snow cower? Climatologists from CBK PAN examine snow cover because its presence influences the energy budget of the atmosphere and the hydrological budget of the environment. Snow fall influences also our daily life - heavy snow fall makes transport difficult, sometimes leading to disruptions in road and air traffic. Moreover, fast melting of snow may increase level of the rivers and even the onset of winter and spring floods.