In order to apply the snow depth data effectively to disaster prevention and reduction, more than 200 sets of automatic snowdepth observation instruments were deployed by the Zhejiang Weather Service in recent years In this paper, the performance of these instruments during routine operation is assessed Problems in instrument structure, snowboard material, installation way, soil frost, and others are examined, and the reasons are analyzed Meanwhile, a quality control method of the snowdepth data based on the hourly variation is put forward and tested in actual snowfall Suggestions for improving the technical specifications of snowdepth observation are also proposed Analysis results indicate that although there are some problems, the automatic snowdepth observation instrument is capable of reflecting the snow cover continuously and obtaining multiple real time data, which has significant advantages in timeliness and precision comparing with manual measurements