finally some good news!!??
December 8, 2004
16 posts
10 users
2k+ views
from my new fave weather site wxrisk...
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Major Trough to develop Miodwest and East coast DEC 11-12 ... wiill become 1st MAJOR EAST COAST LOW of the WINTER -- but south winds ahead of this Low and lack of any cold at the START of this event means Rain for I-95 ... heavy snow over mtns from WVA to central PA to NY state into New England
mmm, HEAVY SNOW over wva? wait, there is more...
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2nd system could be a moderate snow for Midwest DEC 13 and become BIG Middle Atlantic Low DEC 14-15
http://www.wxrisk.com
Yup! .. saw that this morning. Best of all WXRisk has a proven track record for winter predictions.
This could be it!!!
WINTER is about to BEGIN!
Gentlemen, start your blowers! (hmmm .. guess I got carried away with the exclamation points)
I am afraid to get my hopes up. I hope this is true!
Don't get your hopes up! The ground in Central PA hasn't even frozen yet, so any snow that the Mid-Atlantic might receive is going to melt within a few days. Because this ski-season is getting off to a late start and the ground isn't going to fall into a deep-freeze until late Dec. (at the earliest), it's going to be a VERY SHORT ski season....lasting only about 2 months at Whitetail and no more than 2 1/2 to 3 months at most of the other ski areas in the Mid-Atlantic. Of course, I'm not counting minimal conditions where you have a slope or two open with a narrow strip of slush or ice.
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it's going to be a VERY SHORT ski season....lasting only about 2 months at Whitetail and no more than 2 1/2 to 3 months at most of the other ski areas in the Mid-Atlantic
huh? what is the typical open date for whitetail? it seems to me we have been fortunate the last two years to have early openings.
the weather looks to be MUCH colder next week. i would expect that whitetail would be opening slopes as quickly as possible, perhaps by the weekend of the 18th. is that such a late open for the mid-atlantic? supposing an early march closing, that would make for nearly a three-month season. it seems to me that is about all you can ask for around here, at least for the close-in resorts, like whitetail.
I agree that the last two ski seasons at Whitetail have lasted longer than normal. However, this ski season will be SHORTER than normal, perhaps much shorter than normal. AGAIN, I'm not counting EXTREMELY LIMITED conditions where you have only a slope or two open with a narrow strip of slush or ice. You are VERY wrong if you think that this ski season at Whitetail will last close to 3 months (excluding EXTREMELY limited conditions). And, as far as making snow in the near future goes.....it's not going to work too well because the ground is very wet and warm. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure that most of the ski areas in the Mid-Atlantic are going to try, but they can't make a quality snow base until the ground is completely frozen, which isn't going to happen anytime soon.
Wohoo... I'm gonna be at the KMart when this all supposedly happens.
In regards to local ski season... Liberty/Whitetail officially consider a season to be 10-12 weeks long on average. Roundtop usually squeeks in an extra weekend or 2. Anything more is seen as bonus. As for timing... typically mid-Dec. to mid-March plus or minus a week.
I after this week it is going to be very very cold next week and there will definitely be a hard freeze at all the local resorts and great snowmaking conditions most of next week. Most likely with the weather patterns that are predicted to develop later this month and stay throughout the winter it may shape up to be a very successful winter.
Thursday through friday 16-17 looking very good for first significant snow for our region!
Two months at Whitetail and three months at most the rest of the mid-Atlantic? I'm a pessimist, but I'd take the other end of that bet. Is the logging at BK contributing to global warming or something?
Well Roger, you might not like my post but it's the TRUTH! It's very unlikely that there will be a significant number of ski slopes open at Whitetail before Jan. 1. And, the season will not go very far into Mar. because the snow base depth will be less this year. As far as global warming goes, most scientists believe that one of the cumulative effects of logging worldwide is that it contributes to global warming. And, as we know, a sizable logging operation took place at Blue Knob. Granted, any effect that the logging at BK might have on global warming is not measurable. But, like I said, when you add up ALL of the logging world-wide (particularly in the rainforests of the world) it's believed to be a factor in increasing temperatures.
Geesh Mountain Masher, could you BE any more of a drag? Lets drop the negativity already and start being overly optimistic like we should be. I think I'll be skiing in 18 inches of fresh powder at timberline in April again this year. TAKE THAT SERIOUS SALLY!
Roger,
I can't believe you went there
-Warren-
MM- there's a big difference between a "forecast" and the TRUTH. The weather that occurred yesterday is a FACT, what we think will happen tomorrow is a prediction. And in less you're God, I'm not willing to label your prediction or mine or anyone else's the TRUTH. (and if you are God please let me know how I clean my act up to get to Heaven) However, if you turn out to be right that this winter sucks, you'll have bragging rights in mid-March. And we can all blame BK together for the crappy winter. Maybe get a chant going: "BK, BK, how much snow did you melt today?" or something like that...
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Well Roger, you might not like my post but it's the TRUTH! It's very unlikely that there will be a significant number of ski slopes open at Whitetail before Jan. 1. And, the season will not go very far into Mar. because the snow base depth will be less this year. As far as global warming goes, most scientists believe that one of the cumulative effects of logging worldwide is that it contributes to global warming. And, as we know, a sizable logging operation took place at Blue Knob. Granted, any effect that the logging at BK might have on global warming is not measurable. But, like I said, when you add up ALL of the logging world-wide (particularly in the rainforests of the world) it's believed to be a factor in increasing temperatures.
MM, I am not sure how logging a few hundred acres of mountain land is comparable with the clear-cut, blash'n-burn methods used in equitorial regions to clear 1000s of sqmiles of forest. The models that I am knowledgeabel of from environemtnal chemistry (limted number I grant) show that equitorial logging is much more impactful on global temps than temperate zone logging because the most sun light and energy for the planet is introduced in that region making it the most important.
As for BK: Erosion, run off etc... can affect local rivers. And can make the slopes more rocky. With out shade provided by large mature trees the glades will go from a mature forrest to more of a scrub thicket with more under growth for skiers to contend with. Erosion will expose rocks.
As EastSki said, libery's regualr season is only 2.5-3 months on average. Some will be longer than others. This season is alreadt startign late so it will probably be a shorter season. THis doesn't "scuk". It is amazing that in this climate we have the quality of sking that we do.
Tromano, great post, you've made some excellent points. As far as the logging at BK goes, well over 1,000 acres were logged by the current owners of BK and their logging contractor (the ski slope area comprised about 200 acres of the total). And, like I've said many times before, this logging was done WITHOUT any timber/resource management plan whatsoever, which is appalling in this day and age. Also, some of the aforementioned logging took place on PA State Park land. And, as far as global warming goes, I agree that the destruction of tropical rainforests has the greatest effect on global warming. But, how can the US tell 3rd World countries not to log the rainforests when we continue to allow highly destructive logging operations here at home? And, in my opinion, Blue Knob being a perfect example of this.
