As Thanksgiving approaches, many ski resorts in the region are looking at the thermometer and wondering when winter will arrive.

According to the latest weather projections, winter should make its chilly entrance by next week. High temperatures will begin to recede over the next few days as low temperatures fall well below freezing.

That’s welcome news to area resorts; most have taken their snowguns out of storage and are waiting for a sustained blast of cold air to inaugurate snowmaking operations for the season.

West Virginia’s Snowshoe Mountain Resort hopes to claim the earliest opening date this season. The resort had originally planned to open this Friday, Nov. 17, but decided to push back the opening to Thanksgiving Day to give snowmakers a few extra days of snowmaking.

“Mountain Operations is still going with the plan of opening top to bottom skiing and snowboarding at the Snowshoe area on the basin (eastern side) and the Mountaineer Terrain Park and a portion of the Ruckus Ridge Tubing Hill at the Silver Creek area,” explained Snowshoe’s Joe Stevens. “In fact, there may be more than one run available at the Snowshoe area, weather pemitting,” he added.

Temperatures will drop even lower next week, with highs barely breaking 40 at higher elevations and lows falling to the teens. A mix of snow, ice, and rain is a possibility on Sunday and Monday in some areas.