North America Weekly Roundup #263

Midwest Miracle? Cold Snap Could Bring Early Snow to Minnesota Slopes

• Northeast and Midwest: Recent snowfall has covered ski areas in the Northeast, like Stowe and Killington, and colder weather is forecast for the Midwest.
• Western US: Despite warmer conditions, there are early signs of snowfall in the northern Rockies and Utah, with overnight temperatures dropping below freezing.
• Canada: Banff's Norquay is currently leading the race to be the first North American ski area to open, aiming for November 1st.

USA Report

We continue to be some way off the start of North America’s 24-25 season, although we know from past years that sometime 24 or 48 hours after we post a report saying that, somewhere opens! The past week, we have seen a snow covering in the Northeast for ski areas like Stowe and Killington, the latter sometimes the first to open in North America. The snow was heaviest in upstate New York, where Whiteface posted images of snow 3-6” (7-15cm) deep on its upper mountain. There’s also been a little more snow on high peaks in Alaska and the Pacific Northwest, which is forecast to get an above-average snowfall winter this coming season, thanks to the expected El Niño. However, the ski areas in the Colorado Rockies, which usually are the first to open most Octobers, continue to battle persistently warmer and sunnier conditions than usual, much to the frustration of snowmakers. So there’s no sign anywhere has been able to start building much of a base so far. As it is, Banff’s Norquay is currently in pole position to be the first to open in North America, having named November 1st as its opening day, now just over a fortnight away. But equally, as we said at the start, things can change very quickly.

USA Forecast

There is colder weather forecast for the Midwest, where some seasons ago, a ski area in Minnesota claimed to be the first to open in North America thanks to its snowmaking capabilities. Snowfall is also forecast for Alaska, but there are still no hugely positive signs for much of the western US, where it continues to be predominantly warm and sunny. That said, there is snow expected in the northern Rockies, and overnight lows are expected to drop further below freezing in Colorado in the latter half of this week, increasing snowmaking windows. Daytime highs should not be as warm as they have been either. There are also early signs of snowfall possible towards the weekend in Utah and further north.