what about northeast weather causes ice

[arik]

I am curious what it is about the weather in the Northeast that leads to more ice forming on ski trails than out in the West, does anyone know?

More humidity?
More freeze thaw cycling?
Less new snow?

 

[tcharron]

I am curious what it is about the weather in the Northeast that leads to more ice forming on ski trails than out in the West, does anyone know?

More humidity?
More freeze thaw cycling?
Less new snow?

My best guess would be the fact that weather, for the most part, goes west to east. And we've got that great big ocean riiiight next door. :-D But really, that's just my best guess.

 

[frozencorn]

My best guess would be the fact that weather, for the most part, goes west to east. And we've got that great big ocean riiiight next door. :-D But really, that's just my best guess.

Nah, that couldn't be it.

 

[billski]

I am curious what it is about the weather in the Northeast that leads to more ice forming on ski trails than out in the West, does anyone know?

More humidity?
More freeze thaw cycling?
Less new snow?

Altitude/elevation
.

 

[tcharron]

:dunce:

Dunce cap explination, weather buffs, teach us! :-D

It COULD be becouse when a high pressure front is sitting on top of new england (Why the fug tdo they do that, anyway?) they are circulating clockwise, bringing potential moisture off of the ocean inland. Then when another front slides under/on top of it, there's plenty of moisture.

I made that up based on what I would think could cause it.

 

[marcski]

IMHO, I think Billski has it. Elevation. It just doesn't rain at a lot of the western resorts until mid-late spring. The snowpack never goes through a freeze-thaw cycle during the entire season. As a result, the water content is much higher in the east.

 

[tcharron]

IMHO, I think Billski has it. Elevation. It just doesn't rain at a lot of the western resorts until mid-late spring. The snowpack never goes through a freeze-thaw cycle during the entire season. As a result, the water content is much higher in the east.

But that seems like a HUGE generalization. Based on that logic it would make no sense we'd ever get a blizzard.

Bear in mind, the moisture doesn't REALLY come west to east, it comes from all over the place. And it seems we mostly get nasty ice storms when they're coming from like, Texas...

 

[cbcbd]

So at least comparing it to the PNW - we have high humidity which keeps things soft, temps don't usually get NE cold, and there is copious amounts of snow that tend to cover older hard layers.

And it's not all about elevation - Alpental is @ 3K', Stevens is 4K', Baker is at 5k', and Crystal 7K'. Plenty of temp fluctuations and rain. I guess here what we have is quantity that keeps refreshing.

 

[snoseek]

I'm going to say that Northeast has s lot of freezethaw cycles combined with manmade snow and snow with a higher moisture content. It has less to do with the amount of precip but the type, many areas in Vermont get more snow than say Keystone or Crested Butte. The rockies enemy is sun, it can be pretty strong and create its own freeze/thaw cycle on south facing terrain. Backside of Vail or Copper are a prime example.

 

[drjeff]

I'm going to say that Northeast has s lot of freezethaw cycles combined with manmade snow and snow with a higher moisture content. It has less to do with the amount of precip but the type, many areas in Vermont get more snow than say Keystone or Crested Butte. The rockies enemy is sun, it can be pretty strong and create its own freeze/thaw cycle on south facing terrain. Backside of Vail or Copper are a prime example.

Ding, Ding, Ding, we have a winner IMHO. Considering that most Eastern Resorts have somewhere around 75% snowmaking coverage, and very few (if any) once open will give man made snow a few days to drain UNTOUCHED before grooming it out, we get used to a higher moisture content snow surface. Then given the realitvely speaking high skier/rider volume over a much lower acreage of trails compared to a Western ski area on average, and voila! You get a slicker surface.