In our view, Artificial Intelligence (AI) essentially means "pattern matching", and we're using AI's astounding pattern-matching abilities in two ways:
- Produce data: Learn from past storms to more accurately predict future storms.PEAKS and STORMNET is doing something that a human basically can't do at that scale and speed.
- Interpret data: Convert tables and charts into quick-to-understand text overviews. AI forecaster is doing what people can do, just for more places than we have money/people to do them. Our human forecasters can't cover all places at all times, so we created AI-written predictions. We tuned the system to use our weather data and to write a forecast that we would want to read, though like any weather forecast or AI system, it may be inaccurate.
FAQ
Why is OpenSnow using AI?
The main benefit of AI in our industry is that it is leading to improvement in weather modeling. We are using it in our PEAKS Models, which will lead to significant improvement in snow and weather forecasts in complex mountain terrain, which is a benefit to all of us.
Also, we are using AI in our Storm-Net Model, which leads to more accurate lightning forecasts and is a huge benefit for hiking and climbing in the mountains in the summer. And this model also leads to more accurate severe weather forecasts, including tornadoes and hail, which in turn improves safety and preparation in areas prone to severe weather.
Are we laying people off due to AI?
We understand there are concerns and drawbacks to AI at a larger scale, but I really feel that as a company, we are implementing AI in a responsible manner where the pros will far outweigh the cons from a weather forecasting and outdoor recreation perspective. And I say this as a human weather forecaster who covers multiple regions for OpenSnow.
What data is OpenSnow using for training?
100% publicly available data, and our own data. We're not cannibalizing other people's creative work. a lot of this data was created so people like us could build off of it and do cool things with it
Is AI replacing our human forecasters?
The "AI Forecaster" is NOT going to replace the human forecasters. We are implementing this because our human forecasters can't cover every location all of the time, so this is being used to fill in the gaps in a complementary way.
Have our PEAKS and StormNet AI models been tested to see if they are accurate?
One thing I would want to know is some concrete examples of why AI helps us. This is all theoretical and awesome but I personally would want to know real world examples. Examples like: fixing an inversion or the little cottonwood under forecast, or Steamboat over forecast in a west southwest wind
Has OpenSnow worked with NOAA or other agencies to develop AI models?
I do think maybe some forecaster bios or similar would be cool. I mean, the credentials of most of our forecasters are pretty impressive. Talk up our human team. Not just some tech people doing weather.
Is OpenSnow talking about AI because it's trendy and "cool" to talk about AI?
What are the limitations of AI? It can't be perfect, right?
What does OpenSnow think about the environmental concerns about AI?
As for the environmental concerns, literally anything we do will take more power. Another server for weather data? More power. Etc. We're not trying to minimize the concern, but...people are also driving and flying around the world to enjoy perishable snow conditions, so I think that using AI in a limited capacity as a small company is only a minor part of the footprint.
For weather models, yes, AI models take some energy, but it's very small compared to standard weather models that are already out there and we're running our AI models on our own small 1-2 servers, so really a minimal impact.
Also, the world is changing and 1/8th of the world's population has used ChatGPT. We might not like the impact of AI on society, but it's not going away. And for us, it's additive and helping us to make more accurate forecasts and add additional context - no harm there!
It just remains to be seen on the environment and social impacts as it could be the technology the solves a lot of the technological, engineering, and medical problems that we’ve been trying to solve.
2025 has brought exciting new features and innovations from the team at OpenSnow.
Our number one goal is to improve the accuracy of our forecasts and expand the capabilities of our existing and new features using the latest innovations in machine learning.
What AI means for your OpenSnow forecasts
- More time to prepare for severe weather.
- More accurate mountain weather forecasts.
- Fewer surprises when you're playing outside, no matter the season.
StormNet
In September 2025, we introduced StormNet, an AI-powered severe weather model that produces real-time, high-resolution forecasts for lightning, hail, damaging winds, and tornadoes.
StormNet was built to help you make real-time decisions to seek safety if lightning or severe weather is heading in your direction. This is particularly useful when hiking, driving, and participating in most outdoor events.
View → OpenSnow.com/stormnet
PEAKS
We are also in the final stages of implementing PEAKS, an AI-powered weather model that produces forecasts up to 50% more accurate in complex, mountain terrain.
Alta, Utah, is one of the snowiest locations in the United States.
Typical weather models underpredict the snowfall at Alta (grey line), while the PEAKS model (orange line) closely aligns with the precipitation that Alta receives (black line).
PEAKS learns from past storms and transforms normal weather models (used by other apps) into sharper, more location-specific forecasts. Learning from past storms is what human meteorologists do, but unlike humans, PEAKS can forecast for every location on earth with updates taking only seconds.
This map compares a normal weather model and our PEAKS weather model using a precipitation forecast in northern Utah. Higher amounts of precipitation are shown as orange colors.
The normal weather model is "blob-y" and smooth as it does NOT understand the location of each mountain peak and valley bottom.
The PEAKS weather model transforms this "blob-y" forecast into a higher-resolution forecast that accurately predicts areas of higher precipitation along favored mountains, and areas of lower precipitation in sheltered valleys.
View → OpenSnow.com
PEAKS + StormNet
Combined, PEAKS + StormNet provide a first-of-its-kind, fully operational multi-component AI forecast system that we are aware of in the weather industry.
Meteorology is a complex science, and there will always be a need for human experts to evaluate and add context to weather models and forecasts, especially as that applies to skiing, outdoor recreation, safety, and many other things.
AI will NOT replace human forecasters at OpenSnow
Some of the AI tools we are adding are meant to complement, not replace humans. Our audience values the local “voice” that our forecasters provide and that cannot be replicated by a computer. We understand that our human-powered Daily Snows are one of the most popular features of our service.
The human forecasters at OpenSnow can’t cover all places at all times, so we created AI-written predictions (powered by PEAKS) to provide an in-depth summary of what skiers or riders will likely experience on the mountain.
The main benefit of AI in our industry is that it is leading to improvement in weather modeling. This will lead to significant improvement in snow and weather forecasts in complex mountain terrain, which is a benefit to all of us.
We understand there are social concerns and drawbacks to AI at a larger scale, but we feel that as a company, OpenSnow is implementing AI in a responsible manner where the pros will far outweigh the cons from an improvement in forecast accuracy and safety for all outdoor activities.
Environmental Concerns
How much compute?
How much carbon?
Where are our data centers?
Yes, there are also environmental concerns from training and fully implementing AI features, but anything we do will always require more power and energy:
- Another server for more weather data? More power.
- Improving mountain weather forecasts? More power.
- Faster and more reliable app and website? More power.
Hundreds of millions of skiers and snowboarders around the world are driving and flying to enjoy perishable snow conditions, so we think that using AI in a limited capacity as a small company is only a minor part of the footprint.
That's also why we partner with Stripe to send 1% of our subscription sales to innovative projects that directly remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and ensure its sequestration in secure, long-term storage.
As of October 2025, we have sent over $60,000 to Stripe Climate.