Just sharing the SkiSoutheast News this morning via YouTube and Facebook.
I’ve had the opportunity to talk with a number of our industry partners over the last week and the general consensus is that 2020 has already been a strange year. Despite the challenges presented by covid-19, most mountain communities have seen significantly more visitors than normal throughout the summer and fall months.
Now we have the additional challenge of the winter forecast that includes the influence of a La Niña pattern. Every meteorologist in the region is echoing the same forecast which is for somewhat less-than-normal, natural snowfall and slightly warmer temperatures. The general summary from most meteorologists is that we can expect good periods of cold and snow, followed by warmer trends…followed by cold and snow…and more so than during a typical ski & snowboarding season.
One of long time readers summed things up nicely, saying,
“Hey Mike. Things have been so crazy these last few months. I’m sure that the ski resorts are concerned about being able to stay open all season with covid being a possible roadblock. Now the forecast for the winter is all over the place and could be challenging. Seems like the perfect setup for why Ski Southeast and your webcams are more vital than ever.” – Julia Perry (Facebook Top Fan)
We’ve actually heard that from numerous people so far, including some of our long-term advertisers. Ski & Snowboarding conditions can change over 24 hours, especially if we have two nights of snowmaking temps, followed by a week of 60-70° weather. Obviously, it is our hope that we see weather patterns that go against the normal La Niña trends, but we’ll be here each and every day to provide the latest conditions for every resort in the region.
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Learn MoreMore on My Prediction of a Record Skier Visit Season
In closing, I’ve received some good responses and emails about my prediction for a record skier visit season for the Southeast and mid-Atlantic ski areas. If you missed it, click here to read it.
I was speaking with a couple of marketing peeps at various resorts the other day and they are guardedly optimistic and one shared, “Don’t ‘out me’ on this Mike, but I think you’re right. I think there is a lot of pent up demand for getting away to the mountains and I could easily see us having a top season.”
If our own traffic is any indication, we’re seeing mid-season traffic numbers and most people in the region are not yet “thinking cold/snow” or anything to do with skiing or snowboarding.
In the last seven days, we’ve seen 177K + viewers on SkiSoutheast.com and more than 74K viewer sessions on ResortCams.com…and we only have two ski resorts open for business and the temperatures off the mountain are still golf and tennis like.
We’ll see, but we’ll be here with you every step of the way. Share us with your snow-loving friends.
Until next time.
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