Amateur Scientist Measures Snowfall Every Day for 50 Years

Photo caption: Billy Barr (center) talks to Ian Billick on the main road in Gothic, Colorado, during the DOE […] Photo courtesy of the U.S. Department of Energy Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) user facility. Photo by Nathan Bilow via Flickr. CC BY-NC-SA 2.0. Matter of Fact with Soledad O’Brien – June 8, 2025.

Billy Barr has been doing the same thing every day for half a century. He measures the snow outside his home in a remote part of the Rocky Mountains – keeping a record of the depth, weight and density. He started with just a notebook, but now all 53 years of his data is available online, and researchers are using it to track the impacts of climate change. Our producer Tara Cleary travels to Gothic, Colorado to meet the lone scientist who’s making a big impact.

Click here to view original web page at www.matteroffact.tv

Video: Amateur Scientist Measures Snowfall Every Day for 50 Years – Matter of Fact

Related articles:

Visit one of the world’s most prolific research stations in Colorado mountains – Popular Science

For 45 Winters, Colorado’s Reluctant Climate Scientist Has Been Quietly at Work – Ski

Citizen scientist measured Rockies snowfall for 50 years. Two new hips help him keep going – AP News