Good morning, and happy winter solstice. From now on out, the days get longer!!!
Tears came to my eyes this morning when I looked at the telemetry. I expected to see 6-8” of new snow, and there was nothing. Nothing at all. No new snow. What does this mean? It means we’re all going skiing this afternoon and tomorrow (especially tomorrow). NOAA is calling for 9-13” today, and I think the lower end of that is achievable. Skiing should be pretty good by this afternoon.
I did talk to the groomers this morning, and they reported that the groom was still soft, and not icy. If that’s correct, and I suspect it is, the skiing will be decent later.
Tomorrow, though, looks epic. Enough said about that. I’ll see all of you up there!
High pressure builds in over Wednesday and Thursday, bringing sunshine to the slopes and fog to the valley and ditch.
If you are a windsurfer or kiter, your best bet for wind is this afternoon out in the desert. After this cold front passes, short-lived strong westerlies will hit the Arlington region. I think upper twenties is a reasonable call. It kinda sounds fun to me…
Now, the question on everyone’s mind: Will we get snow in the HR Valley tonight? This is a tough call. Normally, we don’t see snow unless the flow is offshore through the Gorge, pulling in cold, continental air from the desert. I think we’ll see very wet snow and some slushy, minor accumulation at lower levels, and a few inches up in Odell/Parkdale.
Have a great day today!
Temira
One reply on “Winter Solstice Forecast”
While a few inches of fresh snow makes things pretty – it does not make a powder day for Alpine skiing. On the other hand, even an inch of fresh snow – when groomed into the trails at Teacup can make for an epic day of track or skate skiing on our 20K of trails just across from the entrance to the HRM lot at the Meadows. Special extra grooming days are scheduled for Tuesday and Thursday during the winter Christmas break! Ski all day at Teacup, warm yourself by the fire in the cabin, all for a suggested trail use donation of $7.00 per person.