The overnight storm may not be bringing significant depths of snow, but it is helping keep winter enthusiasts on the slopes and trails after a slow start to the season.
The National Weather Service shows total anticipated snowfall through 1 a.m. Wednesday to be less the further north you travel in Vermont and northern New York, with accumulations between 2 and 6 inches.
Ski Vermont President Molly Mahar notes that the southern area of the state was expected to get more snow than the central and northern regions during the current storm.
“Over the last week or so we’ve seen some areas pick up close to two feet of snow. Not all at once. Which I would say certainly in a season like this is more significant for sure. So even when we’re seeing, if they get up to 8 to 10 inches of snow in southern Vermont, that’s great. We’ll certainly take it. I mean we rely quite a bit on snowmaking but certainly the natural snow helps us get more terrain open and keeps the market energized as we’re heading into March now.”
Snowmobiling is a $550 million industry in Vermont. The Vermont Association of Snow Travelers, generally known as VAST, maintains and oversees a network of more than 4,700 miles of snowmobile trails across the state. Executive Director Cindy Locke characterizes overall winter snowfall this season as start-and-stop with the latest snowfalls the most promising for riders.
“The last few weeks we’ve gotten more snow and it’s stayed cold which is really helpful. You know any little amount will help us but because the temperatures have been good winter temperatures the last couple of weeks, we’ve been able to maintain a base. I think we’re very optimistic about the season. And it was definitely a slow start and it wasn’t just for Vermont. As you know New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, everybody, it was a very slow start to the season. Even Canada, Quebec. And we’ve been able to make up that loss just in the past month.”
While the Presidents Day holiday week is the last of the ski season’s “three peaks,” following the Martin Luther King holiday and Christmas season, Mahar says the current storm and another predicted this weekend set up a strong March for skier visits.
“We are poised to make up some ground this month. I would also note that we tend to get some pretty good Canadian business in the northern half of the state throughout the month of March as those schools go on break. So we definitely cannot discount March. It’s really the last core month of our season. I think it is very important that we’re getting this snow and this weather now. And we’ve got more snow forecast right into next week with potentially a big storm on the horizon for the end of this week. So that’s really good news and I think quite important to the industry overall.”
The National Weather Service in Burlington says there is the potential for a more significant storm to impact the region at the end of this week and weekend, but it is too early to determine the exact track or amount of snow.
