The architectural properties of a forest are known to significantly modify meteorological forcing of snowcover. This project develops four numerical modules to simulate canopy processes including attenuation of solar radiation and wind speed, the mixed sky and canopy components of longwave irradiance, and precipitation interception by canopy elements. The four modules and a more realistic atmospheric stability algorithm were included in the Utah Energy Balance (UEB) snow model to estimate water equivalence beneath coniferous and defoliated deciduous forests in northern Michigan. Systematic underestimation of early season snow depth was attributed to the assumption of constant, seasonal average, snow density in the model’s lumped treatment of the snowpack processes. The modified UEB model (UEBMOD) improved estimation of snow depth in a clearing and beneath the coniferous site, whereas UEB with original forest parameterizations performed best for the deciduous site.