Check the Slope Conditions Page for details on conditions at your favorite ski area today. We’re not going to spend a lot of time on detailing a text version of conditions this morning. Let’s just give you guys a quick summary and get to the fun part. (Yes there IS good news…)
First, let’s cover the yuck. Moderate to heavy rain fell overnight and continues today. We’re proud, though sorry to say, that all of the resorts are reporting a 2-4” drop in base depths. Only Ski Beech in North Carolina and Snowshoe Mountain in West Virginia are reporting thin coverage. Kudos to those guys.
Expect some thin coverage areas and even some bare spots at most ski areas today. The lone exception might be Appalachian Ski Mountain and Cataloochee. Regardless, it isn’t going to be pretty out today. So chill out, make Friday a travel day (or a rest day if you’re already close by) and start your fun on Saturday.
More About the Weather in a Moment… Let’s have some fun first.
The TOP question of the last 24 hours was: A REQUEST FOR BAMBI’S CONTACT INFORMATION! You know the weather is the pits when the top question of the day was related to a portion of our story yesterday that alluded to a young lady from Washington DC by the name of Bambi! (FYI, we received Bambi’s permission to use her name yesterday and we even told her we were going to have some fun with it.)
Okay the NEXT, most often asked question was related to whether or not there will be any snow left AFTER Friday’s rains stop. Randolph Santini of Orlando, Florida asked, “I have followed your website for years and have come to know that we can always depend on it for the best information for all of the ski resorts. My question is not so much if there will be any snow left on the slopes, because I have been reading long enough to know that you guys say that the snow on the slopes lasts longer. I think my question is more to WHY does that snow last longer? I think it would be an interesting topic and a timely one for today.”
Now THAT was a well posed question! Nice job Randolph. When we began doing this website eleven years ago we never realized that we’d have to put on our “Mr. Wizard” hat as often as we do.
We’ll probably receive a few emails with the actual scientific explanation…but here’s a more common-sense means of answering the question. Have you ever purchased a snow cone? You know the kind that the vendor scoops snowy, frozen ice and packs it into a paper cone and then right afterwards they pour a bunch of liquid on top, literally swirling cherry or blueberry juices into the snow. It doesn’t change the shape of the snow cone much does it?
Here’s another example: Have you ever bought a large ice tea from a fast food place that uses the very finely, crushed ice and only drank about half of it and then left it in your car overnight only to find that there was still some ice in it the next morning?
Now imagine that kind of finely, crushed snow – packed tightly MUCH more packed than you could imagine. It would take A LOT of liquid to wash that away. This moderate to heavy rain that we’re experiencing today is not going to wash it away. It WILL further deteriorate the base depths; it WILL make for some bare spots and thin coverage…but the rain is expected to exit out of the area later this evening and Saturday and Sunday should be nice. The groomers at every resort will be doing some pushing around and grooming and there will be some decent terrain to ski on for the weekend!
NOW FOR THE REALLY GOOD NEWS!
Cold air and even some natural snow is in the forecast for Monday (Christmas Day) and Tuesday! The highs will be in the 40s for the most part and lows overnight should allow for snowmaking on Saturday night and beyond. If that weather pattern holds (it looks really good) then Holiday skiing will be really great. More slopes will open at each resort and those slopes will be covered with smiling faces!
Monday and Tuesday should be around the clock snowmaking days and that is GREAT news for all ski resorts and the thousands of fans that are certain to be flocking to them.
YOU GUYS PAYING ATTENTION!!??? Skiing will be very nice Monday and beyond! So pack your gear, make the trip…let’s get through this one last yucky, rainy day on Friday and things should begin to look tons better beginning on Sunday and getting progressively better with each passing day.
Enjoy you day of rest…travel safe and until next time…
THINK COLD AND SNOW!!!
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For more information about the ski resorts of the Southeast and Mid Atlantic visit www.SkiSoutheast.com
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