Although the “January thaw” continues with daytime temperatures reaching the 50’s, area ski resorts can at least be thankful for the departure of rain. This past weekend, a warm rain fell on local resorts, eating away inch after inch of snow base. Thankfully, the resorts had built up a healthy base from the end of December through the beginning of January, allowing them to walk away from the rain in pretty good shape.

Rainy conditions the past few days led to wet and loose granular conditions on the slopes. With a bit of grooming, slopes are now in good shape for the week. The forecast is calling for high temperatures to remain in the 50’s at lower elevations through Thursday or Friday, when rain showers are expected to return. Currently, things are looking up for Saturday, when the high will remain in the mid-30’s and lows will drop below freezing.

Until then, snowmaking will be hit-and-miss. West Virginia’s Snowshoe Mountain Resort was able to resume snowmaking Sunday night, but resorts at lower elevations might not find favorable temperatures until the weekend. Although resorts are anxious to fire the snowguns back up, if you can make it to the slopes this week, you should be treated to sunny skies and conditions that are pretty decent.