12/26 - 27 Storm Discussion Thread

[awf170]

Consider slope orientation. Winds hitting slopes head on will enhance upslope snows. Sugarloaf is N-NE facing, so as the storm was passing by Cape Cod, northeast winds gave them a good upslope component through morning/midday. Then the winds shifted NW the rest of the day/overnight and beyond which favored Saddleback for a longer period of time and higher snow totals. This storm really overperformed for Maine resorts mainly due to upsloping and some heavy snow bands just hovering over that area for a long period of time.

Maybe this is true for this storm, but Saddleback reports more snow for every single storm.

As someone who has skied more days in my life at Sugarloaf and Saddleback than anyplace else, I will say that Saddleback typically does get a bit more snow than the Loaf.
The NW orientation certainly helps Saddleback as does the difference in elevation of the base lodges.
Saddleback's base is 2,460 while SL is 1,417....certainly 1000' can make a difference I would think for non-major events when SB picks up a few quick inches while SL stays dry.

Furthermore, and I'm not sure how much this would come into play but it's worth noting. The Rangeley Lakes region is filled with big time lakes. Rangely and Mooselookmeguntic combine for over 24k acres of open water. When you add in the other big lakes in the area, you are over 40k acres easily.

Again, unsure if this is enough to induce any kind of lake effect but if so, this is another advantage SB has over the Loaf.

Sugarloaf's base lodge is actually 1750 feet. That extra 300 feet is the snubber chair, which doesn't matter.

And Sugarloaf's summit is still higher.

I think the difference is that Saddleback's trails are more protected from the wind, not that they get more snow. If you look at trails like Misery whip, bubblecuffer, and winters way they hold snow super late into the season, later than many trails with snow making.