ABoVE: Rain-on-Snow Frequency and Distribution during Cold Seasons, Alaska, 1988-2023

This dataset provides maps of rain-on-snow (ROS) events across Alaska for the individual cold season months from November to March using observations from two space-borne passive microwave radiometers: (a) the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for EOS and Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer 2 (AMSR-E/2) from 2002 to 2023; and (b) the Special Sensor Microwave Imager and the Special Sensor Microwave Imager Sounder (SSMI/S) from 1988 to 2020. Considering the differences in sensor overpass time, observation geometry, and ancillary snow cover data, the AMSR-E/2 and SSMI/S-based ROS records were generated separately. ROS events were defined as changes in surface snow wetness and isothermal states induced by atmospheric processes associated with winter rainfall or latent heat exchange. The data are summations of the number of days with ROS events per pixel at 6-km spatial resolution per month or per 5-month water year. Winter months are when snowmelt from solar illumination is minimal and snow cover is widespread and relatively consistent throughout the region. The data are provided in GeoTIFF format.