Winter Makes a Return and THIS WEEKEND should be GREAT for Skiing and Snowboarding All Across the Southeast Ski Areas!

Last night I woke up to howling winds and driving rain that I could just imagine was destroying any semblance of slope coverage.  There’s no question that the rain did diminish the base depths, however we were watching Appalachian and Sugar do some early morning grooming via the actual LIVE interface of the webcams and it is amazing what the groomers can do to move snow around.

We had about ½ inch of rain around the High Country with heavier amounts North of us, but now that the rain has moved out COLD AIR has moved back in.  Forecasters are saying that we can expect seasonably cool weather for the foreseeable forecasting period and there may even be some Spring SNOW in our future!

Regardless of what nature brings us in the way of snow, the TEMPS will allow for snowguns to crank back up.  Wisp Resort in Maryland and the West Virginia resorts should be able to make snow tonight.  It will be more borderline temps for the Virginia and North Carolina resorts, but it COULD happen tonight into NC as well. The temps will turn much colder tonight and then stay seasonably cold and that will serve to firm up the surface a bit and that is good news to all skiers and riders!  The better/colder weather will certainly be north of Virginia as some natural snow should fall on Thursday night and most of the day on Friday into West Virginia and Maryland .  While nothing significant is forecasted…it IS snow…and most importantly COLD air!

Wintergreen and Massanutten Resorts in Virginia will have to wait and see about the possibility of making snow tonight.  It will be a close call and snowmakers will probably be on standby ready to crank them up if the temps allow.  They should definitely be able to make snow Friday night as temps drop into the low 20s there.

Cataloochee and Appalachian Ski Resorts plan to stay open through March 26^th, and therefore they will probably be making snow at every opportunity this week as well. Lows tonight and Wednesday night look like they will dip just low enough to make snow. Without a doubt they WILL be able to make snow Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights if they choose to do so as temps will dip to around 20° each of those nights.

So watch the live cams this evening and see if your favorite resort cranks up the guns.  We’ve got our attention on Hawksnest, because they are still saying they plan to open Friday at 12:30pm and with the way the slopes look this morning they will definitely need to make some snow tonight and each night ahead to make for good conditions for this weekend.

THIS IS CRAZY WEATHER…BUT…

It’s probably going to sound CRAZY after the mild temps we’ve been having but with the cold weather pouring in tonight and then particularly over the weekend, if the resorts make snow as planned – conditions Friday, Saturday and Sunday COULD BE the best they’ve been in a couple of weeks.  What a winter we’ve had.  We KEEP saying it has been one of perfect timing and these colder temps could not be hitting at a better time to get conditions sweetened up for this weekend.

TAKE THIS AS A GREAT TIP –

I know that it may be blooming flowers all over the place where you’re from…but if you want to experience a phenomenal weekend of skiing – make plans to ski this weekend.  Make reservations for Friday and Saturday nights and ski all three days with NO LIFT LINES (maybe one-to-two minutes in some places) and what probably WILL BE some awesome conditions to ski on!

While base depths may not quite be what some of the resorts are claiming…what they all DO have is pretty good, side-to-side coverage with some thin coverage and bare areas T-O-D-A-Y.  Those will disappear with some good snowmaking and grooming and with the expected temps this weekend it will make for an amazing weekend.

Snowshoe and the West Virginia resorts as well as Wisp in Maryland are all expecting highs in the low 30s and lows in the teens and 20s.  That could not make for a better weekend.

The Virginia resorts are looking a bit milder but they will be able to make snow Friday night and with highs in the mid 40s and lows around freezing – they too will have pretty darn good conditions for the weekend.

The North Carolina ski areas will be able to make some tonight probably tonight and Wednesday night. Thursday night should dip down to 20° which is perfect timing for a much improved Friday. Friday and Saturday nights should be around 22° and with additional snowmaking and cold temps to firm up the snow…look for pretty sweet conditions at all of the resorts that make snow.

So make plans to ski your favorite resort for this weekend.  You can’t get much better timing for what should be a very nice weekend of skiing and snowboarding.  LEAVE THE YARD WORK AND FLOWERS FOR A LITTLE WHILE LONGER.  It’s COLD up here!

Until Next Time!

Be sure to check out www.SkiSoutheast.com  for more news and stories for all of the Southeast’s ski areas.

Be sure to email photos, snow reports and comments to: [email protected]