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Snowfall below average in US

28th December 2011, by Chris Gill

Squaw Valley needs more snow (although some terrain is open, out of shot here)

As we mentioned in our snow reports, it has been a disappointing December for US states Colorado, Utah and California, which have a lower than average snow cover for the time of year – although they are making the best of conditions established in the November storms. Meanwhile, New Mexico has a different story …

According to the statistics, snow depths in many resorts are at their lowest for Christmas week this century. Vail would normally expect a 30+ inch (70cm) snow base, but instead the total is around 19 inches (48cm) at present. In Winter Park, snow base depths are about 40cm below their average.

Little to no snow at all has been the story in the run-up to the holidays, and where it has fallen amounts are only enough to refresh the pistes. Average snow depths in the Sierra Nevada are put at 95% below normal and unusually mild weather is leaving hillsides brown rather than white. It’s a similar story in Montana, where the snowpack is about 30% below average.

The weather pattern has established itself right across the continent from early December, with only a couple of exceptions. Local weather forecasters are saying that La Nina, the cooling of the equatorial Pacific Ocean, has pushed the jet stream further north into Canada. Air pressure over the northern Atlantic has steered storm systems away from the East Coast too, for example – where they are reporting the least snowfall in New England in November and December since the 1990’s. The good news is that some snow has now arrived this week, with about 20-25cm in Stowe.

However, there are unusual exceptions, as southerly New Mexico is experiencing one of its best starts to the winter season in decades. Resorts such as Taos and Santa Fe, a long way south of the Colorado regions are having a mini snow boom, with cover deeper than Aspen and town folk rushing to the ski hire shops to get onto the slopes.

Similarly, Arizona – more keenly associated with hot summers and desert – is enjoying one of the deepest snow packs in the country, at almost 4m in the Arizona snow bowl.

It is a testing time for the ski industry, with California particularly expressing concern at the situation. The state’s resorts average 7.5 million skier visits annually, with areas such as Mammoth and Squaw Valley living up to their reputation normally for great snow cover.

But even with a fraction of the skiing open at present, they are managing to get by very well with snowmaking. And the situation is something we’re a little more used to in Europe. No need to panic just yet is the message: it’s early days.

Apparently, the USA is not the only country experiencing one of the mildest winters of recent times: in the UK, the BBC says we’ve just had the warmest weather in 90 years! What a difference from last Christmas.

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