Northern Hemisphere, latest month
5.03 10⁶ km²
2026-09
provisional value
Snow cover extent, Northern Hemisphere land, Greenland excluded (Rutgers Global Snow Lab) · Free use with citation of the Rutgers Global Snow Lab and of Robinson and Estilow (2012) · 10/25/26
Current · provisional
North America and Greenland
3.61 10⁶ km²
2026-09
provisional value
Snow cover extent, North America with Greenland (Rutgers Global Snow Lab) · Free use with citation of the Rutgers Global Snow Lab and of Robinson and Estilow (2012) · 10/25/26
Current · provisional
Eurasia
1.42 10⁶ km²
2026-09
provisional value
Snow cover extent, Eurasia (Rutgers Global Snow Lab) · Free use with citation of the Rutgers Global Snow Lab and of Robinson and Estilow (2012) · 10/25/26
Current · provisional
Largest monthly extent
51.3 10⁶ km²
1978-02
Snow cover extent, Northern Hemisphere land, Greenland excluded (Rutgers Global Snow Lab) · Free use with citation of the Rutgers Global Snow Lab and of Robinson and Estilow (2012) · 10/25/26
Current · provisional
Monthly snow cover, last ten years
Snow cover extent, Northern Hemisphere land, Greenland excluded (Rutgers Global Snow Lab) · Free use with citation of the Rutgers Global Snow Lab and of Robinson and Estilow (2012) · 10/25/26
Current · provisional
Snow cover extent, North America with Greenland (Rutgers Global Snow Lab) · Free use with citation of the Rutgers Global Snow Lab and of Robinson and Estilow (2012) · 10/25/26
Current · provisional
Snow cover extent, Eurasia (Rutgers Global Snow Lab) · Free use with citation of the Rutgers Global Snow Lab and of Robinson and Estilow (2012) · 10/25/26
Current · provisional
Show the data as a table
Yearly mean snow extent since 1967, Northern Hemisphere
Snow cover extent, Northern Hemisphere land, Greenland excluded (Rutgers Global Snow Lab) · Free use with citation of the Rutgers Global Snow Lab and of Robinson and Estilow (2012) · 10/25/26
Current · provisional
Show the data as a table
Method and sources
Monthly snow cover extent computed by the Rutgers Global Snow Lab from the weekly NOAA charts (NOAA climate data record, Robinson and Estilow; Estilow et al., 2015), since November 1966, on a 190 km grid. Values converted to million km².
The charts rest on the interpretation of visible, then microwave, satellite imagery; their resolution improved over time, which the common 190 km grid attenuates.
Reading these data
Extent says nothing about snow depth or water equivalent, which matter for rivers. Autumn shows little trend, even an increase, while spring clearly retreats: the yearly mean mixes the two seasons.
SOURCES OF THIS PAGE
- Snow cover extent, Northern Hemisphere land, Greenland excluded (Rutgers Global Snow Lab)
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Robinson, D. A., Estilow, T. W. and NOAA CDR Program (2012). NOAA Climate Data Record (CDR) of Northern Hemisphere (NH) Snow Cover Extent (SCE), Version 1. NOAA National Climatic Data Center. Monthly areas from the Rutgers University Global Snow Lab.
· doi:10.7289/V5N014G9 · source page ↗
Licence : Free use with citation of the Rutgers Global Snow Lab and of Robinson and Estilow (2012) · retrieved on Oct 25, 2026 · SHA-256 0544c001d804… - Snow cover extent, North America with Greenland (Rutgers Global Snow Lab)
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Robinson, D. A., Estilow, T. W. and NOAA CDR Program (2012). NOAA Climate Data Record (CDR) of Northern Hemisphere (NH) Snow Cover Extent (SCE), Version 1. NOAA National Climatic Data Center. Monthly areas from the Rutgers University Global Snow Lab.
· doi:10.7289/V5N014G9 · source page ↗
Licence : Free use with citation of the Rutgers Global Snow Lab and of Robinson and Estilow (2012) · retrieved on Oct 25, 2026 · SHA-256 1d72d3e55119… - Snow cover extent, Eurasia (Rutgers Global Snow Lab)
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Robinson, D. A., Estilow, T. W. and NOAA CDR Program (2012). NOAA Climate Data Record (CDR) of Northern Hemisphere (NH) Snow Cover Extent (SCE), Version 1. NOAA National Climatic Data Center. Monthly areas from the Rutgers University Global Snow Lab.
· doi:10.7289/V5N014G9 · source page ↗
Licence : Free use with citation of the Rutgers Global Snow Lab and of Robinson and Estilow (2012) · retrieved on Oct 25, 2026 · SHA-256 202c72cf601b… - Estilow et al. (2015)
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Estilow, T. W., Young, A. H., & Robinson, D. A. (2015). A long-term Northern Hemisphere snow cover extent data record for climate studies and monitoring. Earth System Science Data, 7(1), 137–142.
· doi:10.5194/essd-7-137-2015
Licence : Published literature; cited