Snow is in the forecast!
All right folks, we had our January thaw. It was fun while it lasted, but the end is near.
Thankfully, this season the skiing in New England has not only survived the warm spell but will be thriving again very soon thanks to historical snow totals in December.
Flashback: On January 10th last season (2007) the mercury hit 70°F in Boston.
Q: Remember that?
A: I do, it freaked me out, completely. That was the day I booked a short notice plane ticket and went to Colorado for some turns.
I only bring this up because other areas in the country are currently experiencing heroic conditions. Where you ask? Lake Tahoe (CA & NV) and Little Cottonwood Canyon (UT) are just plain killing it. In addition to the bounties of white stuff already on the ground more new snow is still falling.
picture of Snowbird, UT from RSN
Seriously, Kirkwood reported storm totals of 94 – 128 inches from the winter event that crushed the Sierras last weekend, or in other terms 8 to 11 FEET of snow!
Check out this cool link I found for Snowbird, I put it on the Message Board.
Present Conditions: The reality is that our ski mountains in New England did take a hit during this recent warmth. However, the rain event that rolled through yesterday ended up being much less of a menace than predicted. It did drop some not so frozen precipitation and pounded the mountains with high winds. The rule of thumb is the natural snow trails (read – no snowmaking) are currently closed. They will remain that way until more flakes fall from the heavens. Nevertheless, the areas made it through the difficult days and nights with bases intact.
The Forecast: I have been poking around a lot and taking in information from many different weather sources. My best estimate is that the northern most areas in ME, NH & VT should see anywhere from 6 inches to a Foot by kickoff of the Patriots game at 8:00 pm Saturday night. Southern areas will be likely get a wintery mix, but it will definitely help soften things up.
Coin Flip: The real news is that we could be looking at an honest to goodness Nor’easter that would start up Sunday night and howl into Monday. This one could be a big snowmaker. If we are hit and the slopes do pick up another FOOT (keep fingers crossed for more), than the skiing and snowboarding in the region will be right back to where it was this past Saturday — Exceptional!
Best Bets: Drive an extra hour or two to the north this weekend. The line of mix will probably go right through Central VT (Killington) and across to North Conway, NH (Attitash). Anything north should have a much better chance of seeing all snow.
Saturday areas will see conditions improve from both snowmaking efforts and help from Mother Nature. Trail surfaces will be ‘skied off’ quickly. I would reckon ice would be prevalent in the afternoon so Saturday morning is the way to go.
Sunday will be the best day of the weekend, as more snow should fall in the mountains Saturday night.
Monday could be spectacular. If Old Man Winter gets going, you might want to think about getting a day off from the plant and skiing.
Keep an eye to the sky. The January thaw is over!
Powder for the people,
S.G.
