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Warm Weather and Low Snowpack Bedevil Western Ski Resorts
Western ski resorts face operational challenges as snowpack falls below average, threatening water supplies and increasing drought risks, while Midwest and Northeast enjoy record snowfall.
- In recent weeks, Western ski resorts have struggled to open runs due to unusually warm weather, leaving most lifts closed and Utah's Midway Ice Castles postponed while Bearcat Stables offers wagons instead of sleighs.
- The National Weather Service reported temperatures 7-10 degrees above normal near an area that will host part of the 2034 Winter Olympics, and much of the West received rain instead of snow, slowing early snowpack accumulation like Oregon's Upper Deschutes Basin start, the slowest since 1981.
- Gerlich warns that reduced snow storage increases drought and wildfire risk while recent rains have damaged infrastructure, with NOAA officials noting threats to reservoirs supplying farmers, ranchers, and residents from Denver to Los Angeles.
- Routinely snowy Midwest and Northeast storms have given skiers better early-season terrain than the West, with Cannon Mountain reporting over 50 inches and Killington Resort and Pico Mountain opening about 100 trails.
- Forecasters caution that one big storm can change the seasonal picture quickly, with Lake Tahoe long-range forecasts still showing the possibility of several feet, and officials say it is too early to rule out a turnaround.
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15 Articles
15 Articles
Coverage Details
Total News Sources15
Leaning Left6Leaning Right3Center6Last UpdatedBias Distribution40% Left, 40% Center
Bias Distribution
- 40% of the sources lean Left, 40% of the sources are Center
40% Center
L 40%
C 40%
R 20%
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