The objective of this study was to compare two energy balance models to simulate energy exchange, skin temperature and albedo at the snow surface. Point measurements of vertical snow temperature and density pro®les, snow surface temperature, net radiation and albedo were taken during spring 1997 at a site within a sparse coniferous stand in northern Finland. Standard meteorological measurements were available near the snow site at the SodankylaÈ Meteorological Observatory. The study period included two weeks of measurements of turbulent heat ¯uxes with the eddy-correlation method above snow as a part of the NOPEX±WINTEX project ``Land-surface-atmosphere interactions in a wintertime boreal landscape''. Two point models with dierent snow process representations were tested and the modelled energy ¯uxes at the snow surface were compared. UEB was chosen as a simple model, which derived the surface energy ¯uxes but treated the snowpack as one layer. SNTHERM represented a sophisticated model to simulate mass and energy transfer at the snowpack boundaries and within the snow cover. The results showed major dierences in the modelled radiation balance due to dierent albedo procedures implemented in the models. The model comparison using identical radiation input data indicated that SNTHERM had a better overall agreement to the measurements as compared with UEB. Major dierences between the two models were found in the calculation of sensible heat ¯ux and snow surface temperature, which were sensitive to the correction for atmospheric stability and snow thermal conductivity, respectively. The comparison of the SNTHERM results to the eddy-correlation measurements of sensible heat ¯ux supported the use of a restricted correction for atmospheric stability. The forest canopy had a notable eect on the short-wave radiation balance, the vertical wind pro®le, and the measured sensible heat ¯ux.