Weather and Snowpack Update for the United States - SnowBrains

"Mount Hood Ski Bowl recently announced that its operations will be suspended until further notice, and many large ski areas, including Vail, Park City, Deer Valley, and others only have roughly 65% of their terrain open, according to ski area websites. Many ski areas in the West have gone several weeks without seeing more than an inch or two of snow. After a warm and wet fall, dry January has offered no relief to the immense challenges this snow-starved winter has brought."

"SNOTEL sites keep track of the snow water equivalent of the snowpack, or how much liquid water would be present if all of the snow melted, removing the need to consider settlement of snow over time, differences in density of new precipitation, and other factors. But when the snowpack numbers are compared to the total amount of precipitation that has fallen this season, a different story emerges."

"While almost all basin snowpacks are below average, many regions have received above-average precipitation for the year, especially in the Northern parts of the country. The problem is, most of that precipitation fell as rain in the late fall and early winter because of unseasonably warm temperatures. Most of the precipitation earlier in the season has come from a series of atmospheric rivers, bringing large amounts of moisture and warm air from the Pacific to North America."

Western U.S. ski areas face severe snow deficits, with many resorts operating only partially and some suspending operations. SNOTEL observations show most basins far below average snow water equivalent, with parts of Oregon below one third of normal and Utah and Colorado near half. Much of the season’s precipitation fell as rain during an unusually warm late fall and early winter, driven by atmospheric rivers that brought warm moisture from the Pacific. Some mountain regions missed these storms entirely, receiving little or no precipitation. A persistent offshore high pressure block has limited winter storms and prolonged the snow shortage.

Read at SnowBrains