Yesterday and the day before were rainy and misty and milder. I got a few emails asking about how the snow would be affected. I passed this question off to Mike and he gave me a straightforward answer…ski areas in North Carolina have received an incredible amount of natural snow AND snowmaking ops have taken advantage of cold temperatures early on and built up some INCREDIBLE BASE that can easily withstand a few days of slightly warmer temperatures (or less cold) and a little rain. We’re likely to see base numbers drop off just a touch, but not to worry, the snow is here to say. Ski areas build and build base early in the season in preparation for possible January and February thaws.
Cold air has returned! Yesterday was a little bit warmer with temps at the North Carolina ski areas ranging from 30°-40° which is not nearly as frigid as it has been. Some days the temperatures weren’t even breaking into the teens. We haven’t gotten a new skier’s forecast from our snow-loving weatherman friend Brad Panovich (we’ll likely have one tonight or tomorrow covering the weekend) so I’ll pass along some weather information from weather.gov…to sum it up, there’s a chance of snow at every North Carolina ski area through the overnight!!
Let’s have a look around…
Appalachian – 26°- Open today after a night of snowmaking on 100% of the mountain! Season passes are on sale right now! This is a great opportunity to get in some inexpensive skiing for the rest of the season!
Weather: Tonight: Snow, mainly before 4 am. Low around 22. Windy, with a west wind 5 to 8 mph increasing to between 25 and 28 mph. Winds could gust as high as 40 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New snow accumulation of less than one inch possible.
Friday: A chance of snow showers before noon. Partly sunny, with a high near 23. Windy, with a west wind between 22 and 32 mph, with gusts as high as 47 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.
Beech Mountain – 30°- 100% open with a ½ inch of new snow. Beech will make snow this week as temperatures to provide ideal skiing conditions this weekend (for our SkiNC Summit…had to put that in there)
Sugar Mountain – 30°- 100% open with a TRACE of new snow! Sugar says there will be no snowmaking during day OR night sessions! Snow Tubing and Ice Skating are both also open today!
Weather: Tonight: Snow, mainly after 10 pm. Patchy fog after 8 pm. Low around 19. Breezy, with a west wind 5 to 8 mph increasing to between 18 and 21 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New snow accumulation of less than one inch possible.
Friday: Snow showers likely, mainly before noon. Cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly sunny, with a high near 24. Breezy, with a northwest wind between 14 and 22 mph, with gusts as high as 37 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.
Cataloochee – 28°- Open today on 100% of the mountain for day, twilight and night skiing and riding. Today and tomorrow (1/20-1/22) are Military Appreciation Days! All active and retired Military personnel and families will receive special rates on lift tickets, lessons, rentals and tubing!!
Sunday-Friday (non-holiday) Cataloochee is offering a FREE ANY LEVEL ski or snowboard lesson with the purchase of a lift ticket and ski or snowboard rental!!
Weather: Tonight: Rain and snow likely before 11 pm, then snow. Patchy fog between 11 pm and 1 am. Low around 23. West wind between 8 and 13 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.
Friday: A chance of snow, mainly before 8 am. Mostly sunny, with a high near 33. North wind between 9 and 15 mph, with gusts as high as 26 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.
Sapphire Valley – 31°- Open on 100% of the mountain for skiing and riding. Tubing also open!!
Weather: Tonight: A chance of rain or freezing rain before 11 pm, then snow likely. Patchy fog between 10 pm and 2 am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a low around 24. West wind between 7 and 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. Little or no ice accumulation expected. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.
Friday: A chance of snow before 7 am. Sunny, with a high near 34. North wind between 7 and 16 mph, with gusts as high as 28 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.
Wolf Ridge Resort – 27°- Open to day on 16 of 23 slopes with more terrain slated to open for the weekend! The slopes are groomed and in great condition! It’s College Night at Wolf Ridge – $15 lift ticket (night only)!!
Weather: Tonight: Rain and snow likely before 11 pm, then snow. Patchy fog after 9 pm. Low around 22. Northwest wind between 5 and 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New snow accumulation of less than one inch possible.
Friday: Snow showers likely, mainly before 11 am. Partly sunny, with a high near 31. Northwest wind between 11 and 16 mph, with gusts as high as 28 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.
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ONLY TWO DAYS UNTIL THE 2011 SkiNC.com Summit at Beech Mountain!! We will be out there between 8:00-9:00 claiming prime real estate in the MIDDLE parking lot, then head out to make some early turns!! We’re planning a mid-day GRILL session, so if you’ve got a GRILL that’s easy for you to transport bring it along!! In the VILLAGE Beech will be hosting a Winter Beer Tasting AND starting at 4:00 in Beech Tree is LIVE MUSIC from The NATIVE SWAY and The ENEMY LOVERS!!
Lift tickets are 50% off and the fun times will be worth every dime!! Come out and HAVE A GREAT TIME, meet some new PEOPLE and enjoy skiing and snowboarding with GOOD COMPANY!! Click here to sign up!! We’re at 130 Attendees already!!!
For more information on ALL of the ski resorts of the Southeast and Mid Atlantic – visit www.SkiSoutheast.com
THINK COLD! THINK SNOW!
We urge you to visit:
www.HighCountryWebCams.com
www.HighCountryWeather.com
www.SkiSoutheast.com
Send your comments, photos, videos and trip reports to: [email protected] or [email protected]