Monday, March 17, 2014
Skiers at Bretton Woods behind the Mount Washington Hotel, Saturday, March 8, 2014. (AP Photo/Jim Cole)
With the official start to spring just a few days away, ski resorts around the United States are preparing for the end of their seasons.
For areas from the Adirondacks to northern New England, AccuWeather.com senior meteorologist Dave Dombek said that many recent rounds of fresh snows could keep some resorts open well into April.
"They've had a lot of fresh snow recently on top of a good base from earlier in the season," Dombek said.
Mount Sunapee in New Hampshire is reporting 108 inches this season, with 9 inches of recent snow. As a result, 64 of their 66 trails are currently open. Nearby Loon Mountain in Lincoln, N.H., is reporting 19 inches of new snow since March 11.
Farther south in the mid-Atlantic states, however, Dombek said they are not receiving the same high volumes of fresh snow. Canaan Valley Mountain Resort in West Virginia has closed their snowshoeing and cross country trails, stating that "Trails [are] unavailable due to lack of natural snow."
The recent storm that swept from the Midwest to the Northeast fell as mostly rain across the Appalachians with some snow at higher elevations, while piling on the powder for New England and New York.
With a new system being monitored, however, more snow could make an appearance for the Northeast soon.
Conditions Improve for West Coast, Ample Snow for Rockies
In the interior West, conditions have been more favorable. Jackson Hole, Wyo., is reporting more than 430 inches of snow this season. Parts of Utah and Colorado are getting amounts of 200 to 300 inches of snow on the season after the recent rounds of snow they have received.
Meanwhile, in the West, a dry winter season has been exacerbating devastating droughts. Rain and mountain snow fell at the end of February, which added feet of fresh snow to give a boost to mountain conditions.
"We received 3 to 4 feet of beautiful fresh snow," said a representative for Mammoth Mountain, nestled in the Sierra Nevada. "Conditions are the best they've been all season."
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AccuWeather.com Western expert meteorologist Ken Clark said "If any place [in California] is having decent conditions it is [the Sierras], since they are so high up."
He adds, however, that they are still behind what would be considered normal.
"They may be seeing the best conditions of the season, but still not what they are used to," Clark said.
Last season, still gripped by drought, had 308 inches for the mountain. This season has brought only 158 inches, with no new snow reported in the past week.
Resorts will typically rely on natural snow more at this time of the season. Dombek explained that snow manufacturing becomes more difficult in March. Though temperatures are often still cold enough, the angle of the sun makes it melt too quickly to be worth the process for some areas.
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