<p>A new computer model uses a better artificial intelligence process to measure snow and water availability more accurately across vast distances in the West, information that could someday be used to better predict water availability for farmers and others. The researchers predict water availability from areas in the West where snow amounts aren’t being physically measured. Comparing their results to measurements from more than 300 snow measuring stations in the Western U.S., they showed that their model outperformed other models that use the AI process known as machine learning. Previous models focused on time-related measures, taking data at different time points from only a few locations. The improved model uses both time and space into account, resulting in more accurate predictions. </p>