Sunday 12/27 -

[Angus]

What does this mean for say Cannon- Wildcat where I was hoping to ski Sunday. Here's the latest from noaa. last 12/27, skied at Sugarloaf in an sleet, ice, and rain storm!

THE ATMOSPHERE AT THE ONSET OF THE EVENT ON SATURDAY NIGHT LOOKS
COLD ENOUGH FOR SNOW. HOWEVER...AS THE LOW LEVEL WARM ADVECTION
OVERSPREADS THE REGION...A MIX OF RAIN...SNOW...SLEET...AND
FREEZING RAIN WILL BE POSSIBLE. DURING THE DAY SUN THE MIXED
PRECIP WILL BE CONFINED TO THE MOUNTAINS WHERE THE COLDER AIR WILL
BE TRAPPED. ALTHOUGH THE MODELS ARE SHOWING BIG DIFFERENCES AS FAR
AS THE AMOUNT AND PLACEMENT OF THE QPF...AT THIS POINT IT LOOKS
LIKE A HALF INCH TO AN INCH OF PRECIP IS POSSIBLE FOR MUCH OF
THE AREA ON SUNDAY. PRECIP WILL CHANGE OVER TO ALL SNOW ONCE AGAIN
SUNDAY NIGHT WITH ONLY CHANCE POPS IN PLACE.

 

[wa-loaf]

Ski Monday after the change over to snow?

 

[billski]

What does this mean for say Cannon- Wildcat where I was hoping to ski Sunday. Here's the latest from noaa. last 12/27, skied at Sugarloaf in an sleet, ice, and rain storm!

THE ATMOSPHERE AT THE ONSET OF THE EVENT ON SATURDAY NIGHT LOOKS
COLD ENOUGH FOR SNOW. HOWEVER...AS THE LOW LEVEL WARM ADVECTION
OVERSPREADS THE REGION...A MIX OF RAIN...SNOW...SLEET...AND
FREEZING RAIN WILL BE POSSIBLE. DURING THE DAY SUN THE MIXED
PRECIP WILL BE CONFINED TO THE MOUNTAINS WHERE THE COLDER AIR WILL
BE TRAPPED. ALTHOUGH THE MODELS ARE SHOWING BIG DIFFERENCES AS FAR
AS THE AMOUNT AND PLACEMENT OF THE QPF...AT THIS POINT IT LOOKS
LIKE A HALF INCH TO AN INCH OF PRECIP IS POSSIBLE FOR MUCH OF
THE AREA ON SUNDAY. PRECIP WILL CHANGE OVER TO ALL SNOW ONCE AGAIN
SUNDAY NIGHT WITH ONLY CHANCE POPS IN PLACE.

It's gonna rain and it's going to snow for sure. Not sure of the timing, but at some point, it will become cold enough to turn to all snow.
Be careful, though, these forecasts are primarily for the valleys; above 2000' could be an entirely different world... Watch for a more definitive forecast on Saturday.

I sure hope it gets cold, stays cold and snows like lleh next week when I'm gone!

 

[polski]

Honestly, even the experimental mountain point forecasts (i.e. not the valleys) look pretty bleak for Sunday skiing. These aren't available for NH yet but check Burke for something not too terribly far from Cannon. Driving could be lousy too and then there's supposed to be wind. Bleah.

Then again, ya never know.

If you have flexibility beyond the weekend consider Mon or Tues. Josh Fox focuses on VT, specifically Mad River Glen, but FWIW he sees potential significant upslope pow Monday. (then REAL cold Tues)

 

[Angus]

Sadly, I agree. I posted looking for "Hope!"

Let's now hope, we don't get a washout. last year's storm was bad - took six plus hours to drive back from sugarloaf to the metro west in ice and messed things up for a couple of weeks.

 

[riverc0il]

Better than all rain which we'll get here just south of the Whites. Minimal damage seems to be expected but skiing on Sunday may be less than desirable. I am heading out the door right now to get in some turns before the precip begins and will probably skip Sunday unless something changes.

 

[Masskier]

Better than all rain which we'll get here just south of the Whites. Minimal damage seems to be expected but skiing on Sunday may be less than desirable. I am heading out the door right now to get in some turns before the precip begins and will probably skip Sunday unless something changes.

Where are you skiing today? If you have time please do a trip report. Thanks

 

[Greg]

Sunday may be less than desirable.

Funny for peoples' expectations differ. I'm really looking forward to spring bumps tomorrow. Gotta roll with it sometimes! Up that way i guess it might be kinda blah though.

 

[WinnChill]

What does this mean for say Cannon- Wildcat where I was hoping to ski Sunday. Here's the latest from noaa. last 12/27, skied at Sugarloaf in an sleet, ice, and rain storm!QUOTE]

It still basically means a mess. There's just too much warm air being pulled in to prevent an all snow event. The mountain terrain mixes warm air aloft and surface sub-freezing air even more to keep it borderline rain vs. freezing rain/sleet. The strong southerly flow helps funnel in more moisture to places like Wildcat and over to SL in Maine, and when pushed upslope can enhance precipitation rates...and they'll stay snow the longest before the warmer air wins out but it'll still be a sloppy mess tomorrow morning. Some of the valley nooks and crannies can trap cold surface air so base areas may refreeze raindrops on contact. They could still pick up a few inches of snow before the transition. Temps at all levels won't support snow until Sunday night/early Monday AM.

Hope that helps.

 

[riverc0il]

Funny for peoples' expectations differ. I'm really looking forward to spring bumps tomorrow. Gotta roll with it sometimes! Up that way i guess it might be kinda blah though.

Weather is going to be significantly different down in CT versus up here in the mountains. Nothing to do with expectations. Freezing rain, sleet, and rain followed by a freeze suck. That is pretty much nearly a universal feeling. Bumps at many areas up here may not be very skiable after tomorrow until the next storm.

 

[riverc0il]

Where are you skiing today? If you have time please do a trip report. Thanks

I just got back from Cannon today. I would not judge tomorrow based on today's conditions. Snow was excellent today and natural snow was skiing really well where it could be found. Weather started calm but was blowing ferociously by the time I went into the pub. Add in some NCP and likely some sleet or freezing rain and things could be interesting tomorrow. I would expect winds to be ridiculous tomorrow as well. I don't normally make plans for weather events until the last minute, but at this point, I am planning on staying in tomorrow.

 

[from_the_NEK]

Yea! Tomorrow (actually the clock is telling me it is already tomorrow) is going to be a great first day of the year for me. uke: at this point I'm actually hoping the temps stay above freezing tomorrow as it is worse skiing in freezing rain (ice buildup on googles and trails) rather than rain. At least with rain the snow stays nice and soft. Ahhhh who am I kidding.... this sucks.

 

[Johnskiismore]

Wow, it has just been rain and fog all day!

 

[AMAC2233]

It feels like March or April here with the damp, mild air and the diminishing snow banks. 13 inches of snow is now down to 1 or 2.

 

[KingM]

Could have been worse in the north country. It will be icy tomorrow, for sure, but we're also supposed to get some new snow, so I'm hoping that will take care of itself in a hurry.

 

[polski]

Could have been worse in the north country. It will be icy tomorrow, for sure, but we're also supposed to get some new snow, so I'm hoping that will take care of itself in a hurry.

I'm starting to eye Tuesday. NWS and unofficial forecasts all are calling for 3-6" or possibly more in most/all of VT tomorrow into Tues. Maybe slightly less for N NH (with mix possible/likely to S) and possibly 6+ in W ME (winter storm watch posted there).

 

[JD]

http://forecast.weather.gov/showsig...d+Falls+VT&product1=Special+Weather+Statement
Ok....