Uncategorized
Engineer's Corner
Published
11 years agoon
Posted By
Outlaw PartnersBy Philip Kedrowski Redleaf Consulting
Because Big Sky receives a lot of snow, structures here must be designed to account for the additional weight. The weight of snow on the ground, expressed in pounds per square foot, is referred to as “ground snow load.”
A structural engineer must know the ground snow load when designing a building. In order to determine snow depth and density, the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and the National Weather Service (NWS) have monitoring stations strategically located throughout the state. Between the NRCS and NWS, there are a total of 294 stations in Montana. The three closest to Big Sky are located near Lone Mountain, Shower Falls and Carrot Basin.
Data is recorded at each station and is available to the public at no charge. However, the engineer can’t use this data directly – it must be statistically processed in order to estimate the 50-year ground snow load at each station location. As more data is recorded each year, the estimations become increasingly accurate.
Once the ground snow load is determined at each monitoring site, the ground snow load at any location is determined by interpolating between these known snow loads. The school of engineering at Montana State University created and maintains a website where users enter a geographic location in Montana and the interpolation is performed automatically, free of charge. This is a tremendous contribution to the safety of structures in Montana.
The Civil Engineering Department accepts donations for this service. Visit coe.montana.edu/snowload/ for details.
__________
Nearby SNOTEL sites
Site Name /Type /Latitude /Longitude /Elevation /Duration Monitored
Lone Mountain /NRCS – SNOTEL /45.28° -111.43° /8,880 ft /21 years
Shower Falls /NRCS – SNOTEL /45.40° -110.96° /8,100 ft /34 years
Carrot Basin /NRCS – SNOTEL /44.96° -111.29° /9,000 ft /30 years
Find more information at the following websites:
NRCS SNOTEL sites – wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/snotel/Montana/montana.html
Montana Ground Snow Load Finder – coe.montana.edu/snowload/
Philip Kedrowski, PE, LEED-AP, is owner/engineer of Redleaf Consulting, PLLC. Redleaf is the only engineering company based in Big Sky.
The Outlaw Partners is a creative marketing, media and events company based in Big Sky, Montana.
Upcoming Events
july, 2024
Event Type :
All
All
Arts
Education
Music
Other
Sports
Event Details
CALL FOR ARTISTS: Paint anytime from June 1-28EXHIBITION & SALE: June 29 - July 31Calling all artists and nature enthusiasts! Get
more
Event Details
CALL FOR ARTISTS: Paint anytime from June 1-28
EXHIBITION & SALE: June 29 – July 31
Calling all artists and nature
enthusiasts! Get your paintbrushes ready for an unforgettable experience at
Paint Under the Big Sky, a thrilling plein air event set against the stunning
backdrop of Big Sky, MT, Chet Huntley’s “The Last Best Place”. Don’t
miss this chance to unleash your creativity and be part of a vibrant artistic community.
What is Paint Under the Big Sky? PUBS is a plein air event for all painters of any ability (over the age of 16). Sponsored by the Big Sky Artist’s Studio & Gallery and the Big Sky Artists Collective, a non-profit organization whose mission is to foster a strong community of artists in the Big Sky area, the paint-out hopes to introduce painters to our extraordinary landscape for an opportunity to create, meet and have fun. Plein air painters record our landscape for generations to come.
Artists are invited to travel to Big
Sky, MT to paint anytime between Jun 1 – 28, and participate in the exhibition
and sale of paintings from June 29 – July 31.
Come join us! We have a great
place to paint and are welcoming and fun!
Don’t miss out!
Time
June 1 (Saturday) 1:00 am - July 31 (Wednesday) 11:55 pm
Event Details
Embrace the freedom and serenity of movement in nature with our rejuvenating morning yoga class on the Mountain Lawn. Allow the fresh mountain air and gentle guided yoga practice
Event Details
Embrace the freedom and
serenity of movement in nature with our rejuvenating morning yoga class on the
Mountain Lawn. Allow the fresh mountain air and gentle guided yoga practice to
invigorate your day of adventure ahead. Complimentary. Weather
permitting.
Time
June 1 (Saturday) 7:00 am - August 31 (Saturday) 7:00 am
Location
Montage Big Sky
995 Settlement Trail
Event Details
Bike Big Sky is a FREE community mountain biking group with BSCO and Gallatin Alpine Sports. Meet at posted locations at 6 p.m. Monday evenings. Visit BSCO.org or swing by
Event Details
Bike Big Sky is a FREE community mountain biking group with BSCO and Gallatin Alpine Sports. Meet at posted locations at 6 p.m. Monday evenings. Visit BSCO.org or swing by GAS for ride information.
Time
June 10 (Monday) 6:00 pm - August 19 (Monday) 6:00 pm
Event Details
Bike Big Sky is a FREE community mountain biking group with BSCO and Gallatin Alpine Sports. Meet at posted locations at 6 p.m. Monday evenings. Visit BSCO.org or swing by
Event Details
Bike Big Sky is a FREE community mountain biking group with BSCO and Gallatin Alpine Sports. Meet at posted locations at 6 p.m. Monday evenings. Visit BSCO.org or swing by GAS for ride information.
Time
June 17 (Monday) 6:00 pm - August 26 (Monday) 6:00 pm