Evaluating snow mass modelling over North America

In 1989, the Atmospheric Model Intercomparison Project (AMIP) initiated a systematic comparison and evaluation of atmospheric general circulation models (AGCMs). The 18 AGCMs in the second phase of AMIP (AMIP-2) were evaluated for their ability to simulate the spatial and temporal variability in snow mass or snow water equivalent (SWE) over North America. Although errors were found in areas with significant orographic effects and there was a tendency to overestimate ablation rate during spring, the findings reveal that most AMIP-2 models simulate the seasonal timing and relative spatial patterns of continental-scale SWE fairly well.