Can someone do snow dances? Call Cleo and ask her to send some snow? Do some ancient Druid ritual and move some Stonhenge and bring snow? This warm spell is not fun!!!

Just to get a prediction of how long this "warm-spell" would last, I went to the Farmer's Almanac on-line. This is a direct quote:

"Expect a mild winter, with above-normal temperatures and rainfall but less snow than average. November will be cool. Mild, sometimes warmer-than-average temperatures will prevail from late November until late December. Expect cold temperatures from late December through mid-January, when Canadian air masses will dominate. Snow flurries will occur during this period, with big snowstorms unlikely. Expect the coldest weather in the second week of January, followed by a brief thaw. Then, but for a few more cold days, winter will essentially be over."

Now that's depressing!

This the prediction for... Atlanta? Jacksonville Florida?? Can't be for our region.... Boooohooooo!! Sniff sniff....

tell me about it. i just moved here from utah. alta has already had 172 inches of snow since october.

http://www.alta.com/snow.html

Lou, to answer your earlier question on what region the Farmer's Almanac prediction was for ... It was the "Middle Atlantic Coast" -- they didn't have an "Inland" prediction for this area. The closest inland prediction was for the "Greater Ohio Valley". So I'm just going to hope that Herb Stevens, the "skiing weatherman" (see John Sherwood's article, "Snow Fever"), is correct that it will be a colder than usual winter for the East Coast. It's just taking it's own sweet time getting here!

I just read that Snoeshoe has moved it's opening date to Dec. 14th, so has anyone got a guess as to when Liberty and Whitetail are opening? New Year's!??? @#$%^&*!!! What's been the worst case (i.e. latest opening date) in recent history? Do you know this, Scott?

Well, Alta may have had all the snow they want, but a) they've also had dry years out West while Jay Peak got 450 inches. b) I can go out and buy a beer anywhere in the North East... :-)

I am on my way to Hawaii and I may even try to ski there... Perhaps I can carry the warm weather with me and leave it there.

Think Snow. Massive quantities.

There have been some late opening dates in recent years - it's just the medicine we have to take for putting ski resorts in the Mid-Atlantic. (Of course, no resort anywhere is immune: Mother Nature works on her own schedule, and rarely consults with us!)

The 1996-1997 winter season was particularly bad. DCSki provided a look back at that season (complete with a picture of a cactus and desert - so you just know what the mood was like then) at:

http://www.dcski.com/news/11_19_97/lastyear.shtml

(This is a very old page, with one of the first layouts a young DCSki used. But you can still make out the text.)

In 1997, resorts such as Roundtop grabbed an early opening date, but then almost immediately closed during a "Thanksgiving thaw". They didn't re-open until mid- to late-December.

But by early January, resorts were closing again. (Ahh, El Nino, how we loved thee.)

A DCSki article titled "The metldown continues: other area resorts misplace snow" pretty much summed it up:

http://www.dcski.com/news/01_08_98/meltdown.shtml

The rest of that season consisted of wild temperature swings that caused many resorts to close in mid-season until temperatures dropped again. A real roller coaster ride.

In the 1998-99 season, things got off to a slow start. Resorts like Whitetail didn't open until late December:

http://www.dcski.com/news/12_23_98/update.shtml

Warm weather made an unwelcome return in January '99, once again messing up snow bases.

A nice snow storm flew in on March 15, 1999, but then temperatures climbed into the 50's two days later. (But man, was the skiing great on March 16.)

Moving on to the fall of '99, it was once again a shaky start to the season. A handful of resorts opened in early December, but then, warm weather returned, and silenced the snowguns until late December. Liberty, Roundtop, and Whitetail didn't open until late December.

Things were very good last season, with most resorts capturing early December opening dates. But as we can see, last season was more the exception than the rule. At least through several recent seasons that were under El Nino's grip, the season didn't start kicking until early January.

However, there are several resorts that usually open well before others: Snowshoe, Wisp, and Seven Springs, to name three. Even in bad years, some of these resorts have managed to snag November opening dates. (And in the midst of El Nino, Snowshoe actually fared much better than other resorts, due to its location.) So it's somewhat unusual that *no* resorts have been able to open yet.

So that's some recent history, straight from the archives of DCSki.

Perhaps with last season fresh in our minds, it seems like the season is off to a slow start. But it will arrive - and if we're going to have mild temperatures this winter, I'd rather have them up front instead of showing up randomly in the middle of the season, as they do so frequently.

My advice: get out and enjoy the weather for a few more biking or hiking trips. Make sure the skis are tuned up. Wash the car and then put the ski rack on. Oh, and visit DCSki every day (heck, *multiple* times a day!) of course!

- Scott

Scott you sound too complacent. However your ploy has worked. I will look at the old stuff in hopes that it will keep this warm weather from turning into summer.

Hey! They're opening up the pool!

alta now at 198 inches since october 1st. jay peak is reporting base of 12-24 inches. and is any of that real?

jay peak is pretty close to the border. i think they measure the snow in centimeters, then report it as inches. but if you want beer i am sure they can get you hooked up.

-chad

The latest opening of Liberty in recent memory was Dec. '99 (?) when it didn't get open until Xmas, and that was with marginal conditions. The season didn't get cranking really until Jan.

another 11 inches at alta. season-to-date total now at 211 inches.

Does anyone have a clue what the weather will be like at snowshoe in mid to late Jan. I will be there Jan15-20. In the past, what has the weather been like.

the weather should be really good. snow is in the forecast for tomorrow, and tonight also i believe. good luck and have fun. i think that because winter is strting so late, it will last long into april

Looks like Snowshoe is pushing back their opening date to next Monday, the 17th. I was really looking forward to heading out there this weekend but I guess I'll have to wait with everyone else. On the upside, I'm heading out to Oregon in 2 weeks and they've been getting a serious amount of snow in the past several weeks.

Hello everyone. Another season is coming (I hope) to those asking about Snowshoe's conditions in late Jan. it is usually very good. However, I have been there during that same period and be rained on also. But for the most part I think conditions should be great. Have Fun