I got my flu shot recently, but I’ve recently come down with a disease known only to skiers and riders: snow fever! The symptoms include severe moaning and groaning every time I see a weather forecast, and seasonal depression caused by long periods of warm weather. What I need to kick this bug is some snow. Warren Miller films just don’t cut it. I need the real thing: either from nature or the guns. Is there any hope that any Mid-Atlantic resorts will be able to open for skiing during the next few weeks?

Snowshoe Mountain, which originally targeted November 21 for its opening date and then moved it to December 6, will again be re-considering its opening date early this week. According to Snowshoe’s communications director, Joe Stevens, “Snowshoe will make a final decision on the issue this Monday night and will broadcast its decision over the Snowshoe web site as soon as it is made.”

Timberline, which has promised to open on 13 December, may also move its date up. According to its communications head, Tom Blanzy, “We hope to see some cold in the next 7 days, but at this point we may not be able to open until the 20th at the very earliest.”

Groan!!!! Is there any good news out there? My fever just went up a couple degrees.

Actually, there is some good news. Although water levels in many snowmaking lakes are still lower than they should be, the recent rains did help alleviate some of the drought conditions in the Mid-Atlantic.

Joe Stevens assured me that Snowshoe has more than enough water to blanket their main mountain in snow as soon as the cold returns.

“4 years ago we increased our holding capacity at Shaver’s lake from 40 million to 100 million gallons. We’re in fine shape as far as water is concerned. At Silver Creek we increased the capacity from 12 to 25, and that has been a challenge, but these rains have definitely been a help.”

Tom Blanzy concurs, but warns that more water is still needed.

“We get our water from Spruce Island lake, the Blackwater River, and some lesser streams. Spruce Island Lake [owned by Timberline] is looking better, but Blackwater River [which is owned by the state of West Virginia] could use some more water before we’re finally out of the woods as far as the drought is concerned. West Virginia is very generous with its water, but I would still be happy to see some higher river levels.”

The other speck of good news on the horizon is the long-term forecast for the areas of the Mid-Atlantic west of the Eastern Continental Divide, also known as the Allegheny Front. According to Herb Stevens, the “skiing weatherman,” “In a nutshell, it appears as though most of the eastern 2/3 of the country is in for a colder than normal winter. The northern branch of the jet stream will be dominant, and displaced further south, which will move the primary storm track further south, as well. This is good news for Snowshoe, which can expect above normal snowfall, and plenty of cold air to flex its snowmaking muscles. It may not turn out to be the wall-to wall packed powder fest that we enjoyed last winter, but the prospects for this winter are pretty darn good.”

Herb Stevens goes on to point out that while the East Coast may have to wait awhile for cold weather to arrive, when it does arrive, it will be intense due to the recent and future snow storms in the Midwest and West. Cold air stays cold when it moves over snow. In short, be happy for the West and all of its snow because from that snow, our cold air and snow will eventually arrive.