With the popular three-day weekend approaching, ski areas in West Virginia are firing the snow guns so visitors will find suprisingly good conditions, even in light of the recent warm weather. This week’s colder weather couldn’t have come at a better time.

“Our message to our markets in nearby states is - West Virginia is open to business,” said Alisa Bailey, West Virginia’s state tourism director.

West Virginia so far has been enjoying an excellent ski season, even as resorts closer to D.C. have struggled to open and remain open. Resorts such as Snowshoe have already received significant amounts of natural snowfall this season, allowing them to coast through the recent warm temperatures without much damage.

Canaan Valley’s Steve Drumheller reports that West Virginia resorts have benefitted from the poor conditions at nearby resorts in Virginia and North Carolina.

“What a lot of skiers don’t realize is that West Virginia’s weather pattern comes off the Great Lakes region,” explains Drumheller. “Therefore we can track our weather from Cleveland to Pittsburgh and then to West Virginia.”

West Virginia resorts have been making snow around the clock for the past several days; Snowshoe even received 3” of natural snow Tuesday night, and expects up to a foot from Thursday’s storm. Snowshoe currently has 45 trails open, with a base depth between 20-60 inches.

West Virginia hopes to attract area skiers this weekend, and by offering the best snow conditions in the region, they shouldn’t have too much trouble accomplishing this.