The Accuweather winter outlook video, updated 11/27, is saying that the higher elevations of WV could get 6 inches or more out of the storm/lake effect that will be moving through on Friday evening. That would certainly put Snowshoe in good shape for the weekend of 6-7 Dec., and will give Timberline a nice headstart in making snow.

http://weather.yahoo.com/streams/index.html

[This message has been edited by johnfmh (edited 11-27-2003).]

That's the rumor.

I'm willing to believe it. Here in Charleston we have, yet again, flood warnings, and are getting 1-2 inches of snow tomorrow.

From:

http://www.srh.noaa.gov/data/forecasts/WVZ041.php?warncounty=WVC093&city=Davis

Friday night. Snow showers. Accumulation 2 to 3 inches. Blowing snow. Colder and windy. Lows in the upper 20s. Northwest winds 20 to 30 mph with higher gusts. Chance of snow 80 percent.

Saturday. Snow showers likely. Blowing snow. Windy. Highs near 35. Northwest winds 20 to 30 mph and gusty. Chance of snow 70 percent.

My guess is that the upper slopes of Snowshoe and Timberline will get 8 inches out of this storm. I'm optimistic...

[This message has been edited by johnfmh (edited 11-27-2003).]

Oh it's true...But latitude and elevation are going to play a part in this storm. The Laurel Highlands and Northern Alleghenies are going to get dumped on...Lesser so as you head down towards Snowshoe.

danwxman is right: 7 Springs could get the most, but traditionally, CV does the best in these type of situations. In any event, all the western resorts from Sugar to 7 Springs are going to benefit from this....Sugar on Saturday should be excellent. I can feel snow coming our way.

NOAA just got a little more positive in its reports:

Tonight. Snow showers accumulating up to 3 inches. Colder and windy. Lows near 25. Northwest winds 15 mph. Gusting to 55 mph. Chance of snow 100 percent.

Saturday. Snow showers. Mainly in the morning. An inch or so accumulating. Colder and windy. Highs in the mid 30s. Northwest winds 20 to 35 mph. Chance of snow 60 percent.

[This message has been edited by johnfmh (edited 11-28-2003).]

I saw this in the Charleston Daily Mail:

"Already in West Virginia, a winter weather advisory has been issued for
Nicholas, Pocahontas, Randolph and Webster counties. Mazza said those
mountainous areas could see 3 to 5 inches of snow by Saturday."

Why isn't Tucker county mentioned?

Tucker's not mentioned because its a given... it will snow.

I sure do wish that the wind would switch to the West and drop the temps. I'm visiting family this weekend, about 12 miles West of 7Springs. At 11:55 it's still 48 degrees....but the temps in eastern Ohio are down into the upper 30's at this point...

The forcast for here is for about 3 inches tonight......Im hoping for more than that!

2:40 pm, and its now snowing in Davis. Bring it on!!

Looks like the NWS is now predicting 6-10" for Garrett, Tucker and Preston counties:

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH PA
310 PM EST FRI NOV 28 2003

MDZ001-WVZ023-041-291700-
GARRETT MD-PRESTON WV-TUCKER WV-
310 PM EST FRI NOV 28 2003

...WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 8 PM TONIGHT UNTIL NOON
SATURDAY...

RAIN WILL CHANGE TO SNOW SHOWERS THIS EVENING. SNOW MAY BECOME HEAVY
AT TIMES...ESPECIALLY AT THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS...OVERNIGHT AND
SATURDAY MORNING. NORTHWEST WINDS WILL INCREASE TONIGHT TO 20 TO 35
MILES PER HOUR WITH GUSTS TO 50 MILES PER HOUR. THESE STRONG WINDS
WILL GREATLY REDUCE VISIBILITIES AND CAUSE CONSIDERABLE BLOWING AND
DRIFTING OF SNOW. ACCUMULATIONS OVERNIGHT WILL RANGE FROM 4 TO 6
INCHES WITH AN ADDITIONAL 2 TO 4 INCHES POSSIBLE SATURDAY MORNING.
THE HEAVIEST ACCUMULATIONS WILL BE ALONG THE RIDGE TOPS...WITH LESSER
AMOUNTS IN THE LOWER ELEVATIONS.

At first I thought the winner would be the Laurel Highlands of PA, but it looks like everybody in the Apps north of Snowshoe is going to get a dumping. I wouldn't doubt 10" on the Allegheny front from Snowshoe to Laurel Mountain on the highest mountains. Look at this, as of 5:45, it's snowing like CRAZY at 7 Springs: http://www.7springs.com/mountaincams.shtml

The Skiing Weatherman (yes folks, there's always one in the bunch) just came out with an update. Here's his take on the latest storm:

"The mountains of West Virginia, the lake effect belts of western NY, and the resorts of northern VT should all see 3-6 inches, with an isolated 8-inch total."

You can guess where I think those 8 inches will fall: TIMBERLINE & SNOWSHOE!

Snowshoe, in particular, should be in a great position for opening day next week! An 8 inch BONUS coupled with a backlash of cold air for their arsenal of 168 snow guns should allow them to get 76 acres or more of skiing open SOON.

But there's more....Looking at the long range crystal ball, TSW says:

"As far as who might see the next sizable snow, aside from the isolated lake effect spots, well, I think the east might be that spot...but not for a while. Late next week, I can see the southwest ridge poking northward just enough to send a short wave a little further southward as it heads from the Canadian Prairies into the US. On that sort of trajectory, the short wave could deepen to a greater extent as it arrives in the east, and we could end up with our first threat of a coastal storm. That's at least a week away, but I can see the dominoes falling that way...maybe it's wishful thinking, but I'll take another look at that on Tuesday, when I will post again. I'll be traveling Monday, my normal post day. After the big changes of the next 24 hours, it'll be quiet for a while, but the steady progression into winter will continue, and snowmakers will be getting busy all over the east."

For a full report:

http://www.skiingweatherman.com/weather.php

[This message has been edited by johnfmh (edited 11-28-2003).]

As of 8:00 here in Charleston its cold, windy, and snowing.

Think snow!

8:00 pm, Sitting in the house in Canaan Valley. The wind is ripping and its snowing pretty hard. We have about an inch right now. If we get enough tonight I wouldn't be suprised to see Whitegrass up and running tomorrow, once again beating Snowshoe to the opening day punch. :-)

It's dumping in Charleston... the yard's covered, and the wind is putting a low windchill out there.

It's dumping in Charleston... the yard's covered, and the wind is putting a low windchill out there.

Let it snow, let it snow,Let it snow!!!

NOAA just updated its web site. It is now calling for 6 inches or more in Tucker (that means 8-12 at Timberline). Bring it on!!!!

WINTER STORM WATCH
URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH PA
1155 AM EST FRI NOV 28 2003

MDZ001-WVZ023-041-291700-
GARRETT MD-PRESTON WV-TUCKER WV-
1155 AM EST FRI NOV 28 2003

...WINTER STORM WATCH IN EFFECT LATE THIS AFTERNOON UNTIL NOON ON
SATURDAY...

RAIN WILL BEGIN TO CHANGE TO SNOW LATE THIS AFTERNOON OR EVENING IN
THE WATCH AREA. SNOW MAY BECOME HEAVY AT TIMES OVERNIGHT WITH
ACCUMULATIONS UP TO 6 INCHES POSSIBLE BY SATURDAY MORNING. THE
HIGHEST ACCUMULATION ARE LIKELY ALONG THE RIDGE TOPS...WITH SOME
ADDITIONAL ACCUMULATION POSSIBLE ON SATURDAY. NORTHWEST WINDS WILL
INTENSIFY OVERNIGHT...REDUCING VISIBILITIES AND HAMPERING TRAVEL WITH
CONSIDERABLE BLOWING AND DRIFING OF SNOW.

A WINTER STORM WATCH IS ISSUED WHEN SEVERE WINTER WEATHER IS
POSSIBLE, BUT NOT IMMINENT. AT THIS TIME, THERE IS A POTENTIAL FOR
SIGNIFICANT SNOW ACCUMULATIONS. FUTURE DRIVING AND WALKING
CONDITIONS MAY BECOME HAZARDOUS, SO IT IS IMPORTANT TO MONITOR THE
LATEST FORECASTS.

$$

It is 5:00 am in Canaan Valley and I have 5.5 inches of soft powder at my place. The wind is blowing and the snow is drifting. Still snowing so more will accumulate. Let the fun begin.

Wisp, Snowshoe, and 7 Springs will certainly be open by next weekend with decent terrain and Timberline should be able to make its opening date on the 11th.

It's finally happening....

I wonder if Chip was out with his fences last night collecting snow. If so, WG might be able to open today or tomorrow.
If they do, I encourage everyone in the area to go. Cross Country skiing is the best way to work off the Thanksgiving pounds.

[This message has been edited by johnfmh (edited 11-29-2003).]

Nice to get a front line report DMH. watching the radar over the years has been so frusterating with the way the radars split or just faded out over tucker co,wv. I used to think that was the way the moisture flowed off the lakes or somthing.Sure was nice to find out diff.thanks

I second Andy's praise for the live reporting from DMH. If you have a picture, you might e-mail it to Scott, and if it is good, I'm sure he will post it.

I am trying to get some pictures right now from another source. If he delivers, I'll send them to Scott as well.

If WG opens this weekend, I'll really be kicking myself for not going up..... But next weekend, I'm going to bust my rear to get up to Snowshoe. Who else thinks they might be skiing locally next weekend. What about you Canaanman? Will you be making turns on your board next Saturday? I suspect Snowshoe will open it's Spruce Glades Terrain Park.

[This message has been edited by johnfmh (edited 11-29-2003).]

According to the Whitegrass website, they are open today. 3-5 inches everywhere and about 2 feet on the snowfarm loops. They will be grooming 5 km today once the wind dies down a bit. Its so nice to see ski season get rolling. Btw, 8:30 am in Canaan and still snowing pretty good.

The wife and I took the kids down to Wisp today. I'd estimate that they got about 6-7" from the storm.......tough to say exactly because of the blowing and drifting. Even though the terrain that they had open was very limited, it still felt mighty good to get my skis on snow again.

I believe we just got the first "First-hand Report" of the 03-04 season!

Well, I'll give you the 2nd first hand report then.. Whitegrass was very good today. We skiied for a couple of hours this afternoon. The wind was pretty harsh until you got in the trees. They had a lot of terrain rolled, no tracks set that I could find. The snow was light and dry despite the wet ground from the rain yesterday. There were a couple of spots that we needed to walk for 20-30 yards because they were windblown. We skied out to Springer Orchard, up the hill to Cathedral to the shelter on Sawmill Flats and then dropped across the mountain to the lift shack. From there we went down Bartons to 3 mile and back to the lodge. Overall a great way to start the season and stretch the legs. Wish you were here.

Does anyone have info on what runs will be open at 7S? ...

We are trying to make up our minds whether to go to wisp or 7S this Sunday. Would love to go to SS Friday but family commitments (drat!!) preclude any trips farther than 150 miles from Beltway.

I think Scott's article on resorts opening this weekend lists the trails that 7S is planning to open.....I can't recall them verbatim, but it's basically on the Lodge side only.....nothing on the North Face side yet, but of course the storm could affect that....the best thing to do is to call 7S and listen to their snow report.

For North of the Potomac types, 7 Springs or Wisp look like the best bet for a relatively short trip.

For those living south, NUT looks good. Homestead also looks worth a shot. I looked at their stats and the mountain is bigger than I originally thought. A 700 foot vertical is nothing to sneer at here in the Mid-Atlantic.

[This message has been edited by johnfmh (edited 12-04-2003).]

Open this weekend:

Upper Phillips
Fawn
Wagner
Stowe
Tyrol
Avalanche
Boomarang

Possibly NF on Saturday or Sunday depending on temps and snow.