November snow raises questions over ski season
Nov 9, 2015, 8:04 PM | Updated: Nov 11, 2015, 9:31 am
Weather watchers are speculating that the mountains around the Puget Sound will likely see some snow this season. Possibly enough to his the slopes. (AP)
(AP)
There’s snow on the way.
The National Weather Service issued a winter storm watch that goes into effect Tuesday night and lasts through Wednesday afternoon. The snow level could fall as low as 3,000 feet.
University of Washington Atmospheric Sciences Professor Cliff Mass speculates that this season will see much better conditions for skiers and snowboarders in the mountains than last year.
Check the Cascade Mountain Pass cameras
In a recent blog post, Mass notes that weather patterns are gearing up to dump snow on the mountains in greater proportions than in 2014.
“We are seeing very different large scale weather patterns than last year and there is no reason, with the game-changing El Nino going on, to expect a complete snow bust like last year,” Mass writes. “The meteorological cards have been shuffled in a big way.”
Mass predicts there will be enough snow for an early season on the slopes, but won’t speculate if people should invest in a full season pass just yet. He notes that El Nino tends to shorten the end of the winter’s snowy run, so the slopes may not fair well at the end of the season.
Since August, Summit at Snoqualmie has predicted that snow will likely be blanketing its slopes for the 2015-16 season. Snoqualmie’s own blog covers the history of El Nino and ski seasons for the past 60 years.
Snoqualmie is taking an optimistic view. While acknowledging that an El Nino does usually result in less snowfall, it doesn’t mean it will be so bad at the summit.
Related: Major rain and wind to hit the Northwest this week
Snoqualmie Pass aims for 388 inches of snow to be considered a “normal” season. The last moderate El Nino in 2009-10 brought the pass 298 inches of snow; 277 inches in 2002-03.
The El Ninos listed as “very strong” and also rank among the more powerful El Ninos in history occurred in 1997-98 and 1982-83. Snoqualmie Pass received 361 inches and 336 inches of snow respectively during those seasons.
But then there are other El Ninos listed as moderate in 1994-95 and 1968-69 which brought 411 inches and 615 inches to the slopes of Snoqualmie; only adding to the El Nino’s mysterious effects.
It is worth noting that last year was a rather weak year for snowfall, and no El Nino was in play.
