Snow, stratiform clouds, cloud parameterizations, observing climate at high elevations using United States Climate Reference Network approaches

Given this mission, USCRN stations are engineered to operate largely autonomously with great reliability and accuracy. A triplicate approach is used to provide redundant measurements of temperature and precipitation at each location, allowing for observations at a specific time to be compared for quality control.

This approach has proven to be robust in the most extreme environments, from extreme cold (-49°C) to extreme heat (+52°C), in areas of heavy precipitation (4700 mm yr⁻¹), and in locations impacted by strong winds, freezing rain, and other hazards. In addition to a number of stations enduring extreme winter environments in Alaska and the northern United States, seven of the USCRN stations are located at elevations over 2000 m, including stations on Mauna Loa, Hawaii (3407 m) and on Niwot Ridge above Boulder, Colorado (2996 m).