North America Weekly Roundup #259

Wildfires Threaten Western U.S. Ski Resorts

• Wildfires impacted ski areas in the Western U.S., with Mountain High surviving a burn thanks to its snowmaking system.
• Fires near Mt Rose and Mt Bachelor prompted evacuations, while Colorado Rockies ski resorts prepare for snowmaking as temperatures drop.
• Despite cooler overnight lows, daytime warmth in the Rockies is delaying snowmaking efforts until colder weather stabilises.

USA REPORT

Whilst there was snowfall in Europe, ski areas in Western North America were back to fighting fires, unfortunately. Names in the national news in the Ius this week, included California's Mountain High, which had a wildfire burn through it but appears to have survived fairly unscathed by using its snowmaking cannons to soak the area before the fire hit. Then another fire has been close to the Mt Rose ski area to the north and a third led to the mandatory evacuation of the Mt Bachelor ski area in Oregon. At the same time though temperatures have continued to dip down towards freezing on high slopes in the Colorado Rockies and resorts have ramped up snowmaking preparation ahead of turning on machines soon in the race to be first to open when it looks like overnight production can outstrip daytime thawing as we get into October.

USA FORECAST

We’re in a bit of a holding pattern for high peaks in the Rockies with mostly sunny weather and daytime highs in the 40s and 50s Fahrenheit whilst overnight lows will continue to drop a few degrees below freezing. Light rain, sleet and snow showers are possible but the warm daytime temperatures mean we’re not quite yet seeing the right conditions for snowmaking to get underway.