powderfreak

77F MVL

What a torch. 73F and climbing. Record high was 71F.

70F at 10am up here in NVT.

Pretty crazy forecasted temps relative to record highs for Halloween. BTV record high of 71F and the NWS forecast is for 78F?! PBG record of 72F and forecast is 80F? It’s rare to crush record highs by that much, especially at stations with long periods of record.

54F up at 3,100ft a little while ago. Hit 61F down below.

My dew point is higher.

We rain. KMVL 300204Z AUTO 17006KT 7SM RA OVC029 07/04 Quite the temperature gradient along the warm front too. The warm air is getting blocked by the spine of the Green Mtns currently... but it'll pour over the hills and through the gaps soon enough. We all go into the 60s and 70s the next two days.

Ah that explains it. I thought it was interesting they were making snow up on the T-bar, but it's also the highest terrain. Good test/practice run for the snowmaking team. Ski academies and high-level ski/snowboard training programs have moved more and more towards supporting (financially) ski areas opening the training terrain earlier and earlier. Staff training, system stress test (aka blowing out the mice), and having it subsidized a bit... send it. GMVS/Sugarbush... MMSC/Stowe... CVA/Sugarloaf... there are several out there, Waterville is known for ski racing too in the region.

I think the key part of the statement was "a longer window of sustained cold temperatures to start making snow".... snowmaking pond temperatures definitely matter, intake temps. Ground temps, eh? I think it's just the forecasted warmth and if I'm Killington, I know that when I turn on the snow guns, people start looking for an opening day announcement any time and they knew it wasn't going to happen. Whoever has their ear for weather forecasting also plays a big role (I have some experience here, ha). If that person is pessimistic with warmth coming, and head of Ops trusts that individual, that can sway it pretty easily. They are waiting for their trusted confidant to say, "yes, its go time and it can be done based on what I see." My guess is they just didn't want to ignite the "opening day???" frenzy given the upcoming pattern. I also think as IKON and EPIC passes have made skiing more mainstream, the idea of opening for a day or two and then closing down is not a path they want to go down. As hardcore skiers we all understand it... but there are a LOT of less informed skiers and riders that see the opening announcement and then don't bother checking again (sort of like a theme park, park opens and then stays open daily). Those folks start arriving at the mountain looking to ski only to find out the mountain has been closed for three days and likely won't reopen for another week or two. I think those days of opening just to open and then close are likely coming to a close. You open when you know you can stay open.

Training staff, stress testing the system, giving staff a full 12 hour shift of work to see how things go… variety of reasons to do it.

24F neighbors PWS, 25F MVL. I wonder if you can get down near 10F? Imagine single digits in October? It’s only 9pm. Looking at it, you probably really slow the drop in the mid-teens, but damn that’s a fast drop into the teens. You’ve got the solid snow cover too that should take an extra couple degrees off.

You’re going to the surface of the moon tonight. 29F here. That’s why I think your spot is the ideal weather weenie topography… not just the physical location necessarily but the overall topography. Get the elevation snows and the radiational cooling. High elevated valley.

Holy crap, I didn’t notice that. Down to 3F here at one point. That explains the preservation.

I was just thinking that. Leaving work and the shadows immediately felt like the surface of the moon. Like it got cold real fast. Snow up here didn’t even blink today. Good preservation for October.

This is the winter we see the real fireworks.

Not when everyone lights their Christmas trees on fire in disgust from the Grinch Storm.

I do find it fascinating that in a sea of warmth overall, and in an extremely dry pattern, we’ve timed two snow events this October just right. If someone was like October will be +3.5 and -2.00” precip… I’m not thinking that’s a recipe for multiple snow events at elevation, with one to the valley.

Beautiful morning.

1500ft has 2.5”-3” ish of almost higher ratio snow.

Gorgeous this morning.

My sister sent a video of it snowing on the kids at the bus stop in Bedford. First flakes for them.

Just rotting -SN now as the frontogenic forcing wanes in a narrow west-east band.

3.0” reported in Underhill (4 NNE) on the west side of Mansfield. Think it’s like 1,000ft. The west side of the barriers jackpotted.

Even BTV folks posting they are over to flakes… The green trees are why it’s known as the banana valley, ha.

Franconia and Crawford notches have to be real fun. Can see the slow travel down the west side of 93.