powderfreak

Where was that when the Sierra was getting hammered and storms came in over and over in C/N California? Would’ve been great to have them exit the same latitude over here.

Not a bad overall look. Huge swaths of snows all the way up and down the Appalachians.

-12F. Daytime max temp was -1F this afternoon.

We had a great stretch like 2007 through 2014 of good interior storms.

Nice clear evening for temps to plummet.

Ha! Nice. Car said -9F getting home and local station has same.

Car said -9F pulling in at home at 6:20pm. Yikes. It was +9F In Williston leaving Best Buy. 18F difference between Champlain Valley and Stowe.

-24F top of the FourRunner Quad, lol.

Okemo/Ludlow area looked to get hit decently. 5-6” above 2,000ft there, almost all of it this evening.

That's awesome. Love surprise meso-scale snowy evenings. Your clouds and snow should keep it "warmer" but if you go clear/calm with several inches of fresh fluff, you could drop fast. I think you are on a hill top though? May not vacate "warmth" as quickly as a calm valley with fresh snow?

Here's a shot from this morning of the guns going on Liftline. It's always a dramatic trail to make snow on. Similar to Hayride, which will be the last snowmaking trail left to hit after the snowmakers finish this current project. With the cold today and tomorrow, the crew will be maxed out on water. They should make hay. Very little compressed air needed relatively speaking at these temperatures... just pump water to the gun and let it rip. Gallons per minute/GPM metrics cranking. It is a tough ride though on the FourRunner Quad. It can be like riding through a 2,100 vertical foot car wash at times when snowmaking is cranking on Liftline, haha. Regarding the Lookout Double... in the past it has run sometimes when snowmaking is in progress on Liftline. Usually in the colder temperatures it's actually more tolerable to still ride the Quad as the snowmaking isn't fully pasting you and the bottom of your skis/board in wet snow. The ski area also doesn't like running the Lookout when it's this cold. It's a long 14 minutes vs. 7 minutes (with no stops) in these arctic shots. The top of the FourRunner Quad also has the Octagon to warm up in or dry off vs. the Lookout which has no shelter available until you get to the bottom again. Not that I don't trust the Lookout double either (I love it, old school slow double), but it is also prone to some longer stops (usually electrical switch stuff that requires a mechanic to respond to)... not the ideal situation with temperatures single digits to well below zero, plus wind exposure. I would be lying if I didn't acknowledge that tight staffing doesn't make that decision a little easier too. You weigh the pros and cons in operations. Love the change of pace though, brutal cold is a novelty that’s fun.

Sending good vibes your way dude. Condolences too.

I was wondering if you or someone in SVT would get lit up. Most models have a decent streamer at times even into tonight. Euro had a nice burst a bit north up in southern Rutland County.

Yeah tomorrow will be legit. I’m off and don’t plan on skiing .

I notice it most in the younger demographic. High schoolers, college kids, second job folks. One of my employees put it perfectly the other day… literally two years ago you couldn’t find a job even at very entry level service positions. It was “we’ll call you if something opens up” even at a gas station or Dunkin Donuts. He said it felt like a privilege to have a job. Now in just two years every single business you drive by will hire you on the spot in the service industry for 30% to even 40% more money. I still haven’t figured it out…what exactly happened.

Wind is cranking. Just a roar moving through at times. Inversion broke. Well mixed now.

I won't lie, snow conditions do not improve when the temperature drops to -30C at H85 level. It just doesn't. Snow becomes slow, crystals are grabby. Any residual moisture is frozen solid in an absolute way. It's just cold and the snow surface changes. Unless there is decent snowfall right ahead of it or with it, I do think turning conditions will be variable on the firm/crusty side. Snow conditions often improve greatly on the rebound side of the arctic shot. When it goes arctic, and then moderates to like 25F, the snow seems to loosen up very nicely. Best turns IMO will be on the rebound side of the cold shot.

Noticed on radar that the real cold front boundary seems to be creating some squalls. That looks like some squally snows... wind is roaring here at times. That gusty WSW flow ahead of a FROPA is classic. Then we'll get a brief heavy burst of snow and wind.... followed by some brutal cold coming tomorrow night through Tuesday night.

Below 2500ft I found a zipper crust that was noticeable in untracked off-piste areas. Can see a plate of crust on my skis for example. Up higher it skied much better… dense but sand-like.

I feel like I’ve had 3-6” on the ground for weeks now. Out walking the dog now via headlamp, todays sleet and freezing rain added more heft without depth. There’s like 5” that the dog can walk on top of around home. It’s been annoyingly consistent pack but can’t break that like 7” mark.

Well that’s not why, lol. Trust me if ski areas could blow good powder and not sleet they would… it’s not a choice to blow wet mank .

It’s better to have loved and lost, then never loved at all? I agree with you though, I just like watching it snow. Don’t care what type it is.

Lol certainly not down there if you lose it that fast in January. I mean if you can’t preserve a powder pack in January, when can you?

Ha same here! It's rare to have rain with wet-bulbs under 26F.

Thanks! Lovely weather out there too, ha. Just pouring tiny sleet and some freezing rain mixed in up here at the mountain. It might be just enough precip to mess up the snow surface before the arctic blast. We'll see. I didn't think we would get much of anything but there's some QPF coming out of the sky.