From all of us here at SkiSoutheast…we wish you a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS.
Check the SNOW REPORT for resort and slope openings. More terrain is OPEN TODAY!
The photo of the day (above) is compliments of Wintergreen Resort as they are opening their tubing hill today!
If you are currently in the midst of or just beginning a ski & snowboarding getaway, we hope and pray that your journeys are wonderful and safe. If you are not able to make a Christmas trek to your favorite resort, we hope that you will be able to do so very soon and that you’ll be blessed with snowy skies and wonderful experiences when you do. If you are not able to make a ski or snowboarding, winter getaway anytime soon, then we hope that you will enjoy a virtual getaway by visiting SkiSoutheast often!
I know that many of our readers will wake up this morning to see sweet new ski or snowboarding gear. I was blessed to receive brand new K2 boots and Atomic skis a couple of weeks prior to Christmas and Santa brought me some new socks and sunglasses – something I can never have too many of.
Today is all about perspective…or if you’re in a really bummer mood – putting lipstick on a pig.
As Snowshoe Mountain’s marketing department shared this morning, “Mother Nature seems to be playing Scrooge today” as we’ll be seeing gusty winds and light rain off and on throughout the day and throughout the region.
While Colorado, California and Washington state all saw from 7″ to 12″ of snow in the past 24 hours (and more than ten FEET of snow in the last week), we will see from a tenth-to-one-half-inch of rain begin to spread across most of the region. The better weather for Christmas Day may be in the North Carolina and Virginia mountains, where we are seeing sunny/cloudy mixed skies and no rain in the forecast until this evening. Of course, we’d rather NOT be experiencing high temperatures near 67° like are in today’s forecast for the Virginia mountains, but no rain is a good thing.
We’ve been watching the snowy weather out west all week and dreaming that perhaps just SOME of that 156″ of snow in Lake Tahoe would come our way, and according to several meteorologists, we will start seeing some pattern flips to more cold and snowy conditions just AFTER the beginning of the new year.
However, for now and the week ahead, we’re simply going to have to make lemonade out of lemons in terms of the precipitation that falls from the skies. The forecast for the Christmas-to-New-Years week has changed a bit over the last few days and as of right now here are those deets:
THE VIRGINIA MOUNTAINS:
Massanutten, Wintergreen, Bryce, and Omni Homestead may be getting the least amount of drizzle with conditions looking pretty good today and Sunday. The chance of rain increases a little on Monday (30%) but things look pretty okay Monday and Tuesday. Rain is likely on Wednesday of next week, but things look to be drying out a bit by Thursday and Friday.
So all in all, not too bad.
THE NORTH CAROLINA MOUNTAINS
Highs Christmas Day will reach close to 60° with winds in the 22 to 24 mph range – ahead of the rainy system. Gusts today could reach 44 mph. Sunday will still be mostly sunny during the day with winds in the teens to 20mph range. Gusts could be around 21 mph. Monday and Tuesday are now looking decent with little chances of rain until Tuesday night. So you might want to do your snow play during the day. Wednesday looks like an 80% chance of rain kind of day. Thursday looks to be a bit on the wet side and then Friday and next weekend are looking dry right now as the cold weather begins to take over.
THE WEST VIRGINIA MOUNTAINS
Conditions should be okay for today, Christmas Day as there may be 1/10th of an inch of rain today. Showers kick in tonight. Winds today will be in the 20-22mph range with gusts double that. Sunday looks to be rather nice with an early shower before the rope drop and then nice most of the day. Winds will still be kicking a bit. Monday could be a bit wetter and then Tuesday and Wednesday look like hit or miss rain days. You’ll have to “dress for success” and in this case that means waterproof gear and hopefully we’ll see periods with no rain. Thursday and Friday now look pretty good.
Bear in mind that all of these forecasts may change and for the better as well. Just two days ago, this week looked like a wash out. Now, not nearly so. Also bear in mind that MOST all of our ski areas have built up plenty of good base depths. So the actual conditions on the slopes will be nice, soft and nice for carving. We may see some discolorations of the snow, but plenty of it.
Cold Air Is Being Delayed…by the Supply Chain Issue?!?!
Broadcast Meteorologist of WTOP out of Washington, DC sent me this appropriate email yesterday:
Mike, A Merry Christmas to you! I spotted the Grinch riding on a warm front overnight, stealing all the cold air from our area ski resorts. I’m on the case, but it looks like it’s going to take about a week to get that cold air back. Lots of wind today, so any decorations that the Grinch left behind may be blown away.
Really cold air has been ordered, but there are supply chain issues. I am hearing that the delivery has been delayed until some time in January. Mike
Play in the Rain; Wear a Smile; Send Me Your Rainy Photos!
So make the best of it my friends. If you ARE one of the lucky ones who are on or beginning a ski getaway, embrace the weather and enjoy it. There should be windows of time and opportunities to play on the snow this week. If YOU are one of those – send me some photos or videos to [email protected] and I will promise to post them.
If you missed Friday’s post, I shared some ideas for making a wet day on the slopes a good one.
#THINK SNOW; #PRAYFORSNOW; #SNOWDANCES; I’m to Blame for the Lack of Snow…read on.
So yesterday I was out on my front deck, taking advantage of the 50° weather, and tuning and waxing several sets of skis for my daughters, son-in-law and friends. As you’ll see in the photos and video clip below, I “took one (or more injuries) for the team” as before I even really got going on the edge filing – I was guilty of a rookie mistake as I went to set the ski brake, that thing caught my wrist and sent me into a painful frenzy where I was speaking in some foreign language. If you’re going to play that video, turn your volume up. It was caught on my RING camera and my wife and daughter had some good laughs at my expense. Maybe you guys will as well.
I really thought that I might have fractured my wrist, but thankfully this morning there is almost no pain. (By the way, I still ended up tuning, filing and waxing three sets of skis.)
All the while I am doing this good deed for the family, my wife approaches me (holding a board behind her back, which is scary) and lays all of the blame for this December snow drought on yours truly. She said, “Mike, the fact that we’ve had no snow is all your fault. You forgot to put our snow-measuring-snowgirl out this year!”
Truth is, she forgot that we burned that thing as a tongue-in-cheek snow sacrifice a couple of years ago in the midst of another dry spell. However her point was valid. It’s kind of like – if a tree falls in the forest and no-one is around, does it make a sound? If there are no snow-gauges setup, will it snow?
So, she presented me/us with this new (and hopefully) improved version. It is 47″ tall and I can tell you that the FIRST time we erected Snowgirl V1, back in 1993, that thing saw 44″ of snow in our front yard at Seven Devils, during the March, Blizzard of ’93.
So this thing has some major “living up to those expectations” to do!
HERE ARE SOME CLOSING NOTABLES:
CANAAN VALLEY RESORT POSTED:
It’s Christmas in Canaan! Santa Claus brought us one of the best gifts any skier or snowboarder could ask for: more open trails! We are excited to announce the opening of Upper Canaan Curve, Chute, Valley Vista, and Face. Riding these trails will take you from the top of the mountain to the bottom of A Lift, bringing you a thrilling experience while skiing at Canaan.
OBER GATLINBURG
Gotta love Ober’s spirit. They posted:
Dashing to the snow
on an Aerial Tramway 🚠
Ober is the place to go
for Holiday Snow play! 🎶
The Holiday Snow Zone will be open 10am-4pm today and 12pm-5pm tomorrow. ❄️
They do a nice job of making snow for the kids (of all ages) to play on.
SNOWSHOE MOUNTAIN RESORT
We announced on Friday that Cupp Run was open. Here is a nice video produced by Snowshoe.
DAVID LESHER OF CANAAN VALLEY WEATHER POSTED:
A warm Christmas morning, second only to 2015 over the past 21 years when it was 50F at 7AM on Dec 25. The coldest was +6F on Dec 25, 2004. No measureable snow on the ground this morning for the 9th time in the past 21 Christmases here. The most was 12 inches on the ground on Dec 25, 2010.
Here are some photo shares:
That will do it for me today. We are truly thankful for you, our readers. Check back tomorrow for more!
Email me at [email protected]
#ThinkSnow
#ThinkWinter
#Winter
#ThankASnowMaker