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Yesterday I’d hoped to get up to Bolton for some afternoon turns and take advantage of some of the warmer temperatures, but I couldn’t get up to the mountain until after dark. That did allow me to get my first lift-served ski session of the season under the lights. It turns out that while temperatures crept above freezing in the valleys, the mountains stayed below freezing, so the snow never really had a chance to soften up. I was only able to sample terrain with manmade snow, since that’s most of what’s available under the lights, and it was about what one would expect on busy terrain. I’d say it was fairly middling in terms of typical manmade conditions that had seen plenty of skier traffic – not horribly icy, but certainly not universally soft by any means. It was decent snow for carving turns, and temperatures in the upper 20s F made it comfortable to be out. All the main Village parking lots were rather full when I arrived, and when I was leaving the mountain around 6 PM or so, cars were just streaming up the access road. I wouldn’t be surprised if Thursdays are one of their busier nights, but I’d definitely say that the night skiing scene at Bolton is alive and well. The fact that midweek night skiing tickets are only $29 is probably a factor in getting folks up to the mountain for turns as well – that’s just a fraction of the price for a typical daytime lift ticket.

I'd eat my laptop if that evolution happened verbatim.

Ukie is different than both the GFS and Canadian - would like to be under "hood" of these models and see what info - collected data- is being fed into them and how they are programmed to handle it

Gem a complete bust. But Ukie might be loading up at the end of its 168hrs run. Idk how it would end.

Rooting for IU over Miami. Way better story and I like Mendoza.

I don't like the northern stream trending dominant

This is an academic exercise of course, but relating to my last post showing intense snow over me, take a look at this sounding, and note the incredibly skinny DGZ.

Ukie is rain

Agreed. It's too soon for us to benefit. I'd be shocked to see much snow prior to late Jan. If anything does come before then consider it a huge bonus. Maybe the only consideration I'd give is a storm could occur during the +PNA spike aka pattern transition zone.

aigfs much more reasonable looking

You can teleconnect with what the GEFS shows into East Asia,while you have some possible winter in the long range,this should just be transient cold and a warm up afterwards.But this is also with the MJO related sorta speaking So this is gonna crash the good PNA as heights lower into Russia/Mongolia

F^ck that. Next-

Thats only part of the equation much more complicated than that.

LBIMF, too bad it is likely fiction:

Doesn't mean it will snow though. A CMC depiction is more likely. In fact until the MJO circles back around I wouldn't be surprised to see little snowfall until late Jan.

Downslope city on the first one. Ultimately the most likely outcome in my neck of the woods with the energy diving so straight north/south instead of swinging around. Not a bad look for some though. And we just can’t have that energy getting stuck out west of the Rockies for the 2nd one.

Gem looks like it may have lost storm 2. Vort is almost gone at 180hrs to a strung out mess.

Yep more changes ahead

Winter Poised To Return Next Week As Scheduled Increasing Storm Risk Will Accompany Colder Pattern The Descent & Stretching Of Polar Vortex It was reiterated by Eastern Mass Weather last week that a positive TNH pattern would begin to establish itself around the middle of the month, which is a theme that has been consistently advertised list last fall. It was asserted that this new pattern would stabilize by approximately January 20th, at which point a slew of moderate winters storms would ensue as the PV meanders in the general vicinity of James Bay. This +TNH configuration is clearly materializing by early next week, with a colder resurgence accompanying the establishment of the PV near James Bay, Canada, and the first of probably sequence of winter storms organizing. Although the +TNH pattern is often accompanied by lower heights out west given the tendency for southeast ridging, the expectation from Eastern Mass Weather was that the development of a +PNA configuration would ensue during the month of January in conjunction with this pattern, and that is exactly what is poised ensue. As it turns out, it is the precise evolution of this PNA ridge out west that will have major implications on what exactly materializes on the east coast late next week and into the weekend. West Coast Ridge Crucial To Coast Storm Threats Next Week The current interval of RNA that began near the end of November has been a very prominent and protracted one indeed, having persisted for approximately six weeks. Eastern Mass Weather used history as a guide last fall in positing that the consistently negative PNA values from December would give way to a mean positive PNA in the mean during the month of January. This notion was recently buttressed by data provided by Don Sutherland of Americanwx forums, which indicated that 10/10 -PNA streaks of 35 days or greater during the months of November-December since 1980, have averaged positive over the subsequent 30 day period. Data Courtesy of Don Sutherland While guidance has been slow to adjust to this notion, it has, and there is is evidence that is continuing to do so even as the PNA finally recovers to positive values today. Note that the guidance from just one week ago had the RNA returning as early as the 15th of January, which Eastern Mass Weather correctly identified as incorrect. Sure enough, the most recent data indicates that this transition has now been delayed 4 days to January 19th. This an internal part of the forecast for the +TNH pattern that is becoming established for the latter half of January because the addition of a +PNA in this type of pattern will increase the likelihood of significant, and perhaps even major east coast cyclogenesis, as opposed to the traditional overrunning type of precipitation events that typically rule these sort of regimes. This is due to the fact that southeast heights are often elevated enough to compress the flow when abutting against the colder, lower heights south of the PV over the Northeast, which shears storms. However, this is mitigated largely neutralized by the PNA. This trend for a more protracted period of PNA is likely to continue given that the MJO will be approaching phase 7 at a relatively high amplitude just beyond the 20th of the month. This particular convective forcing regime across the tropical Pacific will constructively interfere with the amplification and maintenance of west coast ridging for the vast majority of the balance of January, despite what guidance currently implies. Note how crucial the position and orientation of said ridge is to the evolution of the potential interval of storminess along the east coast late next week. The first wave of energy on Friday is unlikely to coalesce quickly and proficiently enough to yield a major storm given the location and especially the orientation of the the west coast ridge, as was the often the case last season. However, the western ridge positions itself in a manner that is more favorable for significant northeast US storm impacts by next Friday, as the predecessor ocean storm exits stage right. The region is poised for the first in what is likely to be a series of winter storms with MJO assist next weekend, although precipitation type issues are likely to join the fray with subtle retreat of the PV. More updates to follow this week.

Wow!!

Just do like most of us do...look to the left, see the avatar and just scroll past accordingly

Go to bed happy and enjoy what you saw tonight or enjoy what you may see tonight.

https://easternmassweather.blogspot.com/2026/01/winter-poised-to-return-next-week-as.html

Agreed!!! The second storm is over 200 hours out. We got plenty of time for that. Need to nail down the first storm before worrying about the next one lol