Every year about this time, I get filled with anticipation for the ski season. I don't know if it's the ski mags, the sale and swaps, planning a trip, or the crisp cool nights that have me counting down the days. When will the big snows fall? How cold will it be and how long will it last? Will we be skiing pow in December? Pull out you crystal ball, almanac, or arthritic knee, and give you best forcast for the ski season in the mid-atlantic.

Lots of snow - starting early and continuing late into the season - topped off with an end-o-season storm at tline.

Won't be long, the leaves are about half way there up in Canaan, you could almost watch them change before your eyes this weekend.

(ps., is this thread just a ruse to bait the mash-man back online?)

Well, lets see. According to the farmers almanac, the midatlantic will see a the coldest winter in recent years, and snow.

Last weekend at 7 springs while hiking on the trails, I came upon a wooly catepillar. It had a large brown stripe, I was always told this would mean a mild winter. However, it was also really fluffy... I remember also hearing that if the coat of the wooly catepillar is fluffy it will be a cold hard winter, and if it was sparse then it would be mild. Inconclusive based on mr. catepillar.

I am hoping for a cold snowy winter, and am feeling pretty positive at this point. Also my above predictions based on my silly analysis.

I've given up trying to predict winters around here. Last year started strong and I thought it would be epic but look at what happened Jan into Feb. My motto now is take it as it comes and plan at least 1 trip out west.

90% chance .

Based on my own observations of the weather leading upto this fall... it wouldn't surprise me if we had a long, cold, harsh, and snowy winter. Why? Well last year for example in Wardensville it was hot and dry with extremely high summertime temps well into mid-september. I remember hanging out with a friend of mine here at home looking for kittens that a momma cat just had. It was hot (90ish), grass was dead brown, and it felt like july. This year it was as if during August while we had some really hot days, they slowly cooled off towards the end of august by dropping into the low 90's. But all of a sudden in the last week of August, when the remnants of that hurricane came through, temps dropped into the 80's and kept falling faster every since. The last week of September last year was still in the 80's, yet this year it's much cooler and doing so faster. I'm crossing my fingers that this is a precursor to something big this winter.

Don't we have at least one 2.5'+ snowstorm in the non-mountainous areas every 3-4 years? With the last one being in 2003 (I went to Texas 2 weeks after it happened).

I don't know which is more cruel that will toy with your emotions.. freezing winter without snow .. just freezing temps and no snow.. or warm winter where it snows alot and melt really quick.

OK... Was just at Snowshoe this weekend. Flurries on Friday. The colors of Fall have made their presence in the upper thousand feet of the mountain. I vote for cold and snow!!!!

Wicked early season, then an average to somewhat crappy peak, then a heck of a March.