Wednesday Night Looks Good

No Promises, but Wednesday night looks pretty good for snowmaking.  If the forecast holds true, the weekend looks great.  As always, exercise caution with a weather forecast.  That said, I am optimistic about snowmaking the next several days.



While last winter and spring (including June) were dry, we actually had a fairly wet July, August, and September at the ski area.  Our stream has rebounded nicely.  The reservoir is full.  I am expecting a fairly decent snowmaking season.  I doubt we break any records, but we will have a good run making snow this fall.



Once we start making snow, how long does it take to open?  Dozens of variables are involved here.  It is really more of a measure of how much snow we make than how many days it will actually take.  The variables include temperature, humidity, wind, daytime high temperatures, number of hours of both cold and warm temperatures, and a few others.  At  a 27 F wet bulb temperature, we make a bit of snow.  At a 14 F wet bulb temperature, we make a lot of snow.  That said, once we start making snow, if the variables are very favorable, we can get open in about a week.  If the variables are less favorable, it can take 2-3 weeks.  We just have to see how it goes.  Watch the temperatures.  The most important variable is wet bulb temperature, a mixture of air temperature and humidity.  We can make as much snow in one great night of snowmaking as we do in 4-5 OK nights of snowmaking.  Simply, the colder and drier the air is, the more snow we can make.