FIGURE
2. Daily values of mean temperature (red line), precipitation (grey
bars?) and snow depth (blue line) measured at the in Izas catchment
automatic meteorological station during the period April
1st to July 1st (2017 to 2020). Dots
shows of the snow covered area (SCA in % of the area covered by the
camera) obtained from time lapse photography.
Despite the occurrence of many rainy days in late May and June, a
significant snow cover lasted until mid-June and snow remnants lasted
until early July. In spring 2019, snow was also relatively abundant
compared to 2017 and 2020. The intense snow melting recorded in April,
caused the snow depletion and 40% of the catchment was free of snow by
early May when new snowfalls covered again the whole catchment,
exceeding 2 m of snow in some locations. May was dominated by intense
melt, interrupted by new snowfall events at the end of the month. June
started with a 50% of the catchment covered by snow which mostly
disappeared in the next two weeks. In spring 2020 a relatively regular
and continuous but not very intense melt was observed in April. At the
beginning of May 80% of the catchment was covered by snow, but with a
shallower snowpack than the two precedent seasons. May and the first
days of June where particularly warm, driving a fast melt. Melting was
interrupted by an ephemeral snowfall event in mid-May.