Abstract

This paper presents a machine learning-based framework for real-time short-term snowfall forecasting by integrating atmospheric and topographic data. The model uses real-time meteorological data such as temperature, humidity, and pressure, along with terrain data like elevation and land cover, to predict snowfall occurrence within a 12-hour forecast window. Random Forest (RF) and Support Vector Machine (SVM) models are employed to process these multi-source inputs, demonstrating a significant improvement in prediction accuracy over traditional methods. Experimental results show that the RF model achieved a root mean square error (RMSE) of 3.2 cm, while traditional regression models achieved an RMSE of 5.1 cm. The proposed framework provides a more reliable and accurate tool for real-time snowfall prediction, especially in mountainous regions, and can be deployed for operational weather forecasting applications.