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Storm Peak Laboratory, located on the Steamboat Springs Ski Resort in Colorado on the west summit of Mount Werner at 10 532 ft (3220 m) MSL, is an internationally recognized high-elevation atmospheric research station that has been in use for over 40 years. This article provides a brief history of the Storm Peak Laboratory and the major research themes it has supported and discusses opportunities to leverage mountain observatory measurements to advance our understanding of the atmospheric processes. This facility provides long-term measurements of meteorology, clouds, aerosols, snow hydrology, and atmospheric gases, and it serves as a “proving ground” for instrument development and testing. Storm Peak Laboratory is part of multiple national and international observational networks. Due to the unique capabilities of Storm Peak Laboratory, there is a long history of targeted field campaigns primarily within the following research areas: mixed-phase cloud microphysics; atmospheric chemistry pertaining to the formation, characterization, and hygroscopicity of aerosols; and the transport and transformation of atmospheric mercury. Research training has been central to the mission of Storm Peak Laboratory (SPL) over the last 40 years. Currently, SPL hosts both undergraduate- and graduate-level courses in atmospheric science and snow hydrology organized by numerous institutions. Examples of these unique research training opportunities are provided. 

Abstract Prolific winter (December‐January‐February) snowfall occurs over northwest Japan due to frequent sea‐effect precipitation that develops during cold‐air outbreaks over the Sea of Japan (SOJ). Knowledge of sea‐effect clouds and precipitation across the SOJ region has historically been constrained, however, by limited offshore in situ observations and remote‐sensing limitations. This paper uses sensors from National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)'s A‐Train Satellite Constellation to examine winter sea‐effect properties in the SOJ region. The analysis shows that cloud and precipitation occurrence generally increases across the SOJ from Asia to Japan, as potential sea‐effect periods with an along‐orbit mean sea surface to 850‐hPa temperature difference ≥13 °C comprise a majority of the total clouds and precipitation. Sea‐effect clouds and precipitation occur most frequently in an arc‐shaped area that extends from the western SOJ, where the Japan‐Sea Polar‐Airmass Convergence Zone (JPCZ) is common, to the coast of Honshu, and then northward to Hokkaido. Radar, lidar, and column water path statistics along A‐Train orbital tracks show that sea‐effect precipitation is deepest along the central Honshu coast and becomes shallower but more frequent with northward extent. Precipitation amount and frequency maximize along the coast and adjacent mountains but decline with inland extent, most abruptly downstream of higher mountain barriers. This work illustrates that air‐sea interactions, coastal geometry, and regional topography strongly modulate cloud and precipitation patterns during sea‐effect periods in the SOJ region.