low clouds fram snowy mountain resort on a grey day

Ski Season 2013/2014 Forecast

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Let the winter ski season begin!

No, it’s not too early; Crystal Mountain, Washington has already seen deep powder skiing last week. Or at least they had a good photographer out there who made the scene look positively delicious.

I know I’m not the only skier who has already bought her season pass, ordered new ski clothes, and determined whether she needs a pair or two of new skis for this year. I know I’m not even the only one who has been looking forward to the upcoming ski season ever since the last one ended.

But how’s it going to be? Of course, any ski season has a potential to be amazing simply because skiing is a great pastime. But let’s be honest, more snow is even more exciting. And while no prophesy has a one hundred percent chance of coming to fruition, the weather experts can read the signs and make predictions for what sort of winter weather we are likely to experience. Based on the following forecasts, I’d say things look snowy for the upcoming 2013/2014 ski season.

Long Range Winter Forecast for the United States
The Farmer’s Almanac is calling for “below-normal temperatures and above-normal snowfall” throughout most of the winter across the United States. I’m already imagining flying down untracked slopes though all this foretold extra snow. And colder temperatures could mean that it sticks around longer for extended spring skiing.

And apparently early February and mid-March could see particularly noteworthy storms across the country. Presidents Day weekend and spring break could turn out to be great times for powder skiing. http://www.farmersalmanac.com/weather/2013/08/25/2014-us-winter-forecast/

Long Range Winter Forecast for the Mountain West
Meteorologist Rob Guarino calls for a very snowy winter in the mountain west. That is, if all goes according to plan. The timing of jet streams, El Nino, and La Nina plays into how snowy things could get for us in Park City, Utah. Apparently it’s still a bit early to make super solid forecasts about the whole winter season. – Come on, we want to know now!

But Guarino gives us a very tantalizing prediction to hold out for when he writes that we should “expect BIG snow” especially in the ski areas in the northern half of Utah. Yes please!
Utah’s legendary “greatest snow on Earth” has been somewhat lacking in recent years, and it sounds like this upcoming ski season could make up for that disappointment with some epic powder days.

Snow Conditions in Park City, Utah
Though technically the ski resorts of Park City don’t open until November 23rd (Park City Mountain Resort), November 29th (Canyons Resort), and December 7th (Deer Valley Ski Resort), that is not to say that no one has yet been out skiing in Utah this fall.

So how can you stay in the know about the snow hitting the slopes? Most ski resorts offer their own snow reports, but if you like convenience, you’ll appreciate how Ski Utah shows you the current snow conditions at ski resorts throughout Utah all on one page. It looks kinda bleak right now (we are in the midst of mud season after all), but you may want to bookmark the site so that throughout the season, you can check and compare the snowfall at multiple resorts in the past 24 hours, and in the past 48 hours, as well as the base depth. You can also get mobile snow reports with the Ski Utah app.

Jans.com also offers a weather report for Park City’s ski conditions, as well as links for resort snow reports and avalanche reports for the area (especially important for backcountry skiers).

You can also check back here for blogs about opening days at Park City’s resorts and updates on how the ski season actually turns out.

Kendall Fischer, Content Writer

 

Please note: this post was originally published on October 14, 2013, and may be out of date.