It should be a nice Saturday and then a Snowy Sunday and Monday for many. Check out the SNOW REPORT for the details.
The Photo of the Day is courtesy of Massanutten Resort, who reminded us that this weekend is National and International Ski Patrol Day. Okay it was actually yesterday, but we’ll honor these guys and ladies all weekend.
Again, it is Super Bowl Weekend and much like most Super Bowls, the first half of action most often pales in comparison to the second half when all of the “interesting stuff” happens. The same could be said of this weekend’s action on the slopes of the Southeast and mid-Atlantic as the first half (today, Saturday, February 11th) will be “business as usual” with Old Man Winter at least keeping the moisture away – making for a nice day to ski or ride your favorite slopes at your favorite resort.
All eyes are on Saturday night and Sunday as a potent upper-level low rolls across the Southeast spawning a surface low along the Carolina Coast. Today should be generally cloudy with cooler temperatures. Temperatures turn colder Saturday night as the moisture arrives. Snow begins Saturday night and lasts until Sunday evening.
As with snowMAKING, natural snow is temperature dependent. For the last 36-48 hours, those temperatures have been forecasted to bring cold enough air to make for some rather significant snowfall. Our own Brad Panovich was pretty high on areas like Cataloochee Ski Area in Maggie Valley getting deep snow. They still may as the NWS forecast for Cataloochee is for some mixed precipitation later this evening and then 2-4″ of snow tonight and another 3-7″ of snow on Sunday – with some residual snowfall overnight Sunday night into Monday. (So Chris Bates of Cat could see that 6-12″ of snow yet.)
However, temperatures are perilously marginal, and a difference of 1-2° aloft could double or half our snow totals here in the High Country mountains of Boone, Blowing Rock, Banner Elk, Seven Devils and Beech Mountain. Temperatures are predicted to fall tonight and precipitation starts by midnight. Temperatures aloft are on a razor’s edge around freezing. Because of those marginal temperatures, precipitation will be a mix of rain, sleet and snow. The NWS is forecasting 1-2″ of snow tonight for Beech Mountain and the highest elevations and then another 3-5″ of snow on Super Bowl Sunday, and 1-2″ more on Sunday night into Monday. Again, depending on how the cold air battles with all of the moisture, we could see a Super Bowl FLOP or we could see 6-9″ of snow at the higher elevations and possible more.
We’ve already mentioned that the biggest winner in the natural snow lottery from this storm may be Cataloochee Ski Area and Maggie Valley. They should have the temperatures to support more snow. Unfortunately, Ober Mountain, over in Gatlinburg looks to be right on that rajor’s edge of low temps – but they DO have a forecast for perhaps 3-4″ of snow. Meanwhile Sapphire Valley Resort – the southernmost ski area in our coverage – is still looking at a chance of anywhere from 2″ to 10″ of snow. Yep, THAT is the official NWS Winter Storm Warning statement.
On Friday, Brad Panovich mentioned that this particular snowy system would probably favor the Virginia mountains and potentially Winterplace more so that the usually favored West Virginia and Maryland ski areas and that pattern looks to be holding steady. Wintergreen, Massanutten, Bryce and Homestead could pick up 3-4-5″ of snow, whereas the NWS forecast for Snowshoe is for 1-2″ of snow and more Wintry mix. (We’ll see, as Snowshoe, Canaan and Timberline tend to wring out more snow that the forecast usually predicts. So stay tuned.)
Speaking of STAYING TUNED…
President’s Day Weekend is NEXT WEEKEND, February 17-20th and the forecast is already trending towards much more cold air and more natural snow. If that weather forecast holds, that will ensure that all of the important, heavy, skier-visit weekends and Holiday periods will have been met with very nice weather to support the crowds.
…and NOW, Back to Our Regularly Scheduled Programming for Saturday, February 11, 2023…
Haha. It was great watching the comments on Social Media after Matt Laws posted Brad Panovich’s Skier’s Forecast for this weekend. Even a hint of natural snow gets every snow-loving heart pumping faster. Once Matt posted that video on Friday, SkiSoutheast started rocketing up in “interest/traffic” and www.ResortCams.com spiked and that late post on Facebook picked up a quick 7100+ visitors and comments like this favorite:
Stefan Bauroth posted, “Leaving Bluffton, SC tomorrow AM. Rented a 4WD Expedition and we are off to Beech! Feels strange packing the car in shorts and a t-shirt knowing in 24hrs I’ll be in snow! To celebrate I dusted off these bad boys
See photo to the right.
Webcams Are Making the World a Smaller Place
As I do the Snow Report on Saturday mornings, I usually have WCNC Newschannel 36 running in the background. They have a habit of showing ResortCams.com views as do many of the region’s television stations (and thank you guys and gals for that). Just now I overheard the morning meteorologist, Chris Mulcahy mention that their latest forecast for snow (as of 8am) has Beech Mountain getting 5-7″ of snow. (Man, we’ll take it, right?)
Speaking of a small world, on Friday I was speaking with a Zillow rep (Kirby Lee) out of Denver, Colorado. We’ve become fast-friends lately due to my youngest daughter’s recent venture into real estate. Conversations have shown we’re both fans of Beaver Creek and we got to talking about “Birds of Prey”, the slope that has hosted a pair of men’s World Cup Downhill races. Anyway, the subject came up that he is originally from Minnesota and had a season pass for Spirit Mountain in Duluth, Minnesota. Imagine HIS surprise when I shared that WE (ResortCams.com) host their LIVE webcam! See: https://spiritmt.com/live-cam/ and also https://www.resortcams.com/webcams/spirit-mountain/
…again, SMALL WORLD…
Notables…
APPALACHIAN SKI MOUNTAIN
Tonight @roxy, @girlsgoshred & @alpineskishop_nc & bring you the 3rd Ladies Park Session of the year. This event is free with purchase of a ski ticket and open to women of all age, ability, both ski and snowboard. Registration will be from 5pm-6:30pm in the Alpine Ski Shop, and the event will begin at 7pm. #ThinkSnow •
CANAAN VALLEY RESORT
CANAAN POSTED:
We have a fantastic weekend ahead of us on then mountain here at Canaan Resort. Tomorrow kicks off our Subaru Winterfest Weekend with Jenkins Subaru and WDTV 5 News.
-$10 off lift tickets for all Subaru Drivers
-Reserved Parking for Subarus
-Showcase of new 2023 Subaru models
-Cocktail Specials in Quenchers Pub
-Giveaways and Prizes from Jenkins Subaru and Canaan Resort
-Red Bull Tent
-Custard Stand Chili Dogs
See you on the mountain.
MASSANUTTEN RESORT
Happy International Patrol Day! To those that look out for us on the mountain, we thank you! If you see a patroller this weekend, remember to say thank you!
WINTERGREEN RESORT
They ditto Massanutten’s comment.
Today, on National Ski Patrol Day, we would like to give a huge shoutout to the Wintergreen Ski Patrol! Thank you for keeping our slopes safe and providing top-notch services to all our guests. Your tireless efforts and dedication to the sport of skiing and snowboarding are truly appreciated. If you see a patroller out on the slopes give them a wave and say thanks! #NationalSkiPatrolDay #thankapatroller @wintergreenskipatrol
SNOWSHOE MOUNTAIN
They posted this cool event:
Come on up and check out some uphilling demos from Volkl, Blizzard, and Burton tomorrow at Silver Creek! If you’re feeling froggy, stick around for the Moonlight Randonnée Shuffle Race. Not into uphill skiing? No problem. We’ll have fire pits, smores, a cold pressed juice station courtesy of Mountain Juice WV, a live DJ and Black Run Sugar Shack will be open with a full menu of food and drinks.
WISP RESORT
Fan favorite, Ace’s Run on North Camp is now open! ❄ We’re making snow on 13 trails. It’s going to be a great Saturday!
Daily lift tickets for this weekend are available online and must be purchased in advance to ensure your spot on the mountain. Visit: https://wispresort.com/Lift-Tickets/
Stay tuned and THINK SNOW. THINK COLD!
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