Utah Early Season Storms…

With a Thanksgiving ski (hopefully!) trip to the Salt Lake area, I have been watching the weather very closely.  It appears the Salt Lake area is getting some significant winter weather this week.  What does this mean for early season ski conditions?  Obviously, it can’t hurt, but I have never paid much attention to weather patterns in this area.  Are these storms common at this time of year?  Will this snow last or will it all melt away in a few days/weeks? 

 

I’m anxious to get on the slopes, so I will continue to keep a close eye on the forecast.  I understand everything is still just a guess at this point, but I would appreciate any thoughts/feedback from those who are familiar with the typical weather patterns.

 

Thanks again…I’ve learned a lot and enjoyed browsing the forums over the last few days.

 

Andrew

Too early to say. For various reasons, this current storm may not turn out to be that impressive for Utah ski areas. After this, not really anything significant in forecast. That being said, Utah can get a lot of snow very quickly if they get in a favorable pattern. However, nothing in forecast shows favorable pattern in near future. I'm hoping as I too would like to go there on early season trip.

I don't know about Utah, but is snowing a lot in the Cascades.  8" at Mt. Bachelor, 12" at Mt. Hood Meadows, and snowing heavily at Timberline.  Looks like a good start for building a base.

A Raven perched in a snowstorm at Timberline today. This is a good sign.

In the Bear Rivers there wasn't anything bellow 8500' 2 days ago. Now there is about a foot at that elevation. Keep checking snotel.

http://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/snotel/Utah/utah.html

Need about 50" before the resorts will open.

Its really best to wait as long as you can. Once it start, the snow usually just keeps coming and the crowds don't show till Xmas.

Its helps but there is still 1 month to go before opening. For instance by next week there is forecasted highs in the 50s.....

noone can answer your qestion in all honesty.

The Cottonwoods only recieved 6-10" of cold snow from this storm with east wind blowing it around, not the kind of stuff to make a consistent base.  There is about 15-20" total at 9000' & not much below that.  Early snow is a 2 edged sword.  Unless it gets very warm for an extended period, it won't all melt away.  The other side is that if it sits for a long time, it can create havoc with avalanche conditions later on.  Like people have said, fair weather is forecast for the next week but things can change quickly in the Wasatch.

If I had to plan Thanksgiving skiing now, I would think about places with a lot of snowmaking & good summer grooming...  Brighton, Park City, Snowbasin etc.  Some of the Colorado areas are already up & running, might be a better bet.

JF