West Coast Dumped with Snow While Spring Arrives Early in the East

News Search

Push to The Latest: No

SAM Magazine—Lake Tahoe, Calif., March 5, 2024—The first few days of March 2024 were the best of times and the worst of times for North American ski areas, very much based upon location. Sierra at tahoe 2 Courtesy of Sierra at Tahoe As an “atmospheric river” of moisture dumped multiple feet of snow in California and elsewhere in the West, heavy rain and spring-like temperatures in the East continue to erode the snow base, threatening to put an early end to the 2023-24 ski season.

The warm weather also was doing no favors for resorts in the Midwest that have been struggling with above-average temperatures and below-average snowfall all season.

Torrential downpours that caused flooding and mudslides in southern California became a multi-day snowstorm in the Sierra Nevada. Sugar Bowl reported a seven-day total of 127 inches (about 10.5 feet) of snow as of today. Palisades Tahoe received more than eight feet and plans to stay open until May 27, conditions permitting. The snow forced several road closures and temporary shutdowns of ski areas.

A 70-mile stretch of I-80 near the California/Nevada border, for example, was closed through Monday; the highway is a main pipeline for Tahoe-bound skiers. Some South Lake Tahoe ski resorts were reopening today, including Palisades Tahoe—where wind gusts reached 190 mph over the weekend—and Sierra-at-Tahoe, which will have limited operations as it continues to dig out from six feet of snow in the last four days. High winds continue to limit lift operations at many resorts in the region, but areas like Mammoth Mountain seem well-positioned for a second year in a row of “second season” skiing and riding into the summer months.

British Columbia also got a good dose of snow from this system, with Fernie Alpine Resort in British Columbia reporting 52 inches in the past seven days. Further south, Jackson Hole Mountain Resort in Wyoming reported a seven-day total of more than six feet, with more than a foot more expected by Wednesday. Schweitzer, Idaho, got 59 inches in the past week, and Steamboat, Colo., is skiing on 28 inches of new snow in the past three days.

Back east, however, it was already feeling like spring as March began. The mercury hit 68 degrees in New York’s Central Park on Sunday, March 3. That, plus a weather forecast predicting a stretch of mild temperatures to come, has smaller resorts like New Hampshire’s Whaleback Mountain throwing in the towel: the nonprofit ski area will close for the season on March 10, citing “the recent mild, rainy weather.” Whaleback’s closing day last season was March 26.

Yawgoo Valley, R.I., called it a season on March 3, similarly citing the warm, rainy forecast.

Others, such as Mount Southington, Conn., and Titcomb Mountain, Maine, are taking a few days off to preserve their snowpack, with plans to reopen for the weekend, conditions permitting.

Farther north in Quebec, ski areas are holding onto a fair amount of open terrain, with many resorts between 60-95 percent open.

The Midwest’s consistently mild winter brought an early end to the season for several ski areas. Ohio’s Boston Mills Brandywine pulled the plug on its season on Sunday, with GM Jake Campbell posting on social media saying the resort can “no longer compete with the low snow levels and adverse weather in the short-term forecast.” Temperatures in Ohio were expected to top 72 degrees today (March 5).

Traditionally snowy Mount Bohemia on the U.P. of Michigan—with a season total of just 110 inches—closed March 3, but said it will reopen if it gets a storm.

Bucking the trend, a handful of Midwest ski areas are 100 percent open as of today, including Granite Peak, Wis., and Giants Ridge, Minn.

Also, most ski areas in the Southeast remain open, including Ober Mountain, Tenn., and Timberline Mountain, W.Va. Snowshoe in West Virginia has nearly 90 percent of its terrain open. North Carolina’s Appalachian Ski Mountain is 100 percent open.

March is traditionally one of the snowiest months for ski country, as is playing out in the West. The short-term forecast for the Northeast shows a glint of hope for some flakes to fall this weekend and early next week, and the Midwest should see more seasonal temps.

Report by Bob Curley