Winter Storm Juno Forces Travel Bans, Ski Area Closures

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27 January 2015

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SAM Magazine—Hancock, Mass., Jan. 27, 2015—State-wide travel bans in Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York – all of which were subsequently lifted by mid-day Tuesday morning—were ordered in preparation for Winter Storm Juno that was expected to drop more than 2 feet of snow throughout the Northeast. The travel bans forced some ski area closures, proving that it is possible to have too much of a good thing. Juno brought up to 30 inches in some, mostly coastal and suburban areas. SAM Magazine—Hancock, Mass., Jan. 27, 2015—State-wide travel bans in Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York – all of which were subsequently lifted by mid-day Tuesday morning—were ordered in preparation for Winter Storm Juno that was expected to drop more than 2 feet of snow throughout the Northeast. The travel bans forced some ski area closures, proving that it is possible to have too much of a good thing. Juno brought up to 30 inches in some, mostly coastal and suburban areas. But overall the storm didn't dump as much snow as expected, and the highest totals largely bypassed winter resorts.

In Massachusetts, Catamount, Nashoba Valley, Ski Butternut, and Wachusett Mountain were closed Tuesday. Jeff Crowley, president of Wachusett, said pre-storm forecasts said the area could receive some of the highest snow totals from the storm. He said the decision to close today was in the best interest of the safety of employees and guests.

Other areas in the state remained open, including Berkshire East and Jiminy Peak. Craig Light, marketing coordinator for Jiminy Peak, said news of the travel ban Monday evening “was a bit of a worry.”

He said the resort decided not to close mainly because it had many guests staying in its hotels. Jiminy provided overnight accommodations for a few key staff, and the majority of its other employees were able to travel when road conditions turned out to be better than anticipated. Jiminy received three to five inches of snow overnight.

“All in all, it was not a busy day, but a successful one, nonetheless. Our trails got a nice boost of about five inches so far, and should receive about two to five more inches this evening,” Light said.

In Connecticut, Mohawk Mountain received five inches from the storm and opened at 2 p.m. after the state's travel ban was lifted. The area extending its operating hours until 10 p.m.

Trish Morrissey, marketing director, said the resort supported the travel ban for the safety of guests and staff. “We have experienced travel bans in Connecticut before, and we were pleased that the Governor recognized that the situation was less serious than they had anticipated in Fairfield and Litchfield Counties, and rescinded it early,” Morrissey said.

She added that the 2 p.m. opening allowed staff time to dig out and allow the road crews time to get ahead of the storm. She said while storm totals were less than expected, crew kept the snowmaking operation running throughout the storm.

Also in Connecticut, Mount Southington reported 10 inches of new snow and opened at 3 p.m. Powder Ridge and Ski Sundown each reported eight inches of new snow. Powder Ridge opened at 4 p.m., and Ski Sundown opened from 10 am. to 10 p.m.

New Hampshire's Crotched Mountain (17 inches), Pats Peak (13 inches) and Mount Sunapee and Ragged Mountain (12) were among the day's snow winners. Shawnee, Maine, was reporting 14 inches, with snow still falling.