From this morning's Snowshoe website: "A winter storm is expected to move into the area around noon today, and snow measuring up to a foot of accumulation is possible on the mountain--a winter storm warning is in effect. With continuing cold temperatures, and the possibility of natural snow, our three new trails may open in the next week".

THINK SNOW...HARDER!!!
The Colonel

I hope that ski report finger-crossing holds true! The latest GFS model run is suggesting 6-8" for them by mid-Monday when the backlash tapers off, but Snowshoe often does better than the models predict when the snow arrives on the back end of the storm. Saturday-Sunday still looks like a mixed bag, but anybody who is there on Monday morning ought to cash in on a nice little jackpot.

I was once lucky enough to ski at Snowshoe in a similar situation, when I got there right after the rain ended and changed over to snow overnight. That next morning was a memorable day of champagne powder, and the nasty base under the powder wasn't even noticeable. It was a risky trip, but worked out well.

That's what I like to hear. Come on Snow!

-Paul

woohooo snow!!!!!!

Hrm, if I can get in touch with the guys about going to snowshoe tomorrow, it sounds like a once in a life time moment at snowshoe. What a way to make it my first time. lol

Just watch out for the roads. If it does not get above freezing in the mountains tonight, the roads will probably be a skating rink, especially with a coating of snow on top of the ice...the drive up might just end up a once in a LIFETIME event.
Be careful,
Tha Colonel

Anybody see the SS ski report this (Sunday) morning? To quote: "Despite a promised winter storm failing to develop as predicted....". Uh, dummies, the snow is coming today, we've known that since about Thursday. I can't wait to read their report tomorrow, they will probably talk about "surprise" snow. Their ski report and weather prediction has seriously gone downhill since Joe Stevens left. I don't even think they have custom mountain weather forecasts anymore, when that sort of information is readily available at little cost.

Actually, all bets are off at this point, since the storm system has gone a bit out of whack and deviated from the models. The offshore low and the tropical air from Olga are really adding complexity to the forecast. This is actually a good case study for weather prediction.

My weather app (Wx) is showing 10" for Snowshoe today, with the bulk of it (5") falling from 1pm-7pm. We'll see how that turns out. I have found Wx's mountain forecast to be quite reliable this close to realtime. That's not saying a lot, but even knowing the weather 6 hours from now is a feat this time around! I sure do hope the snow makes it up there, they will need it.

The rain and eastern low has moved off the coast. The inland low is over northern Ohio, and the wraparound snow has begun heading in! (all while cold temps are descending north to south). TWC is now showing 6-12" for the WV mountains through Monday morning -- guess they finally got the clue. Wx is still calling for 10" at Snowshoe.

Snowing very hard at the base of Snowshoe right now, with wind gusts up to about 40 mph. About 1/2" of ice last night, then warmed up overnight and melted it. Temperature dropping drastically right now, and snow starting to accumulate with 10" predicted by morning. Wind calms down and the snow is out of here in the morning, it could possibly be epic conditions. Enjoy.

Thanks for the report Stumpy -- good to get an actual on-site observation.

Snowshoe is reporting 8" this morning. I hope somebody is out there enjoying it! They should see occasional snow showers through the morning.

I just want to say that I made it up there Saturday night - Sunday morning. I left VA around 10PM Saturday and made it up there around 3:30AM. The roads were definitely a little sketchy but as long as you took it easy it was no problem. Once I got to Front Royal the temperature had dropped to 32 degrees. When I made it to Wardensville it was about 31 degrees. The roads had a bit of "icy slush" but by the time I made it to Elkins the temperature was about 42 and the roads were fine.

The conditions on Sunday were awful. The runs were mostly hardpack and little bit of man made. It was very hard to get an edge. I did maybe 15 runs and called it a day. The wind was also a killer. I felt like my face was going to tear off. Later on in the evening it started snowing very hard and continued into Monday.

Monday was great. It was snowing like crazy in the morning and the wind had gone away completely. I was surprised at the amount of people there but there was plenty of freshies to be had.

I hit every run on the Snowshoe mountain and enjoyed every minute. Later in the day the clouds cleared and it was blue skies...perfect. After hitting all the runs I went over to Silvercreek to see what was happening. Quiet as usual but the runs they had open were nice and of course, zero lift lines.

All in all it was a good time and I'm glad I went. When I left last night the temperature was 9 degrees (talk about cold).

-Paul

Ah, wonderful, glad you got out there to enjoy it. I wish I was there on Monday too!