We had a lot of ups and downs this season due to an El Niño weather pattern, which brought warmer temperatures and warmer storms, limiting snowfall across the Mid-Atlantic. Despite El Niño bringing a favorable chance for coastal storms, we only saw a couple and those coastal storms gave New England the most snow. Several resorts in the southern and eastern Mid-Atlantic saw more snow than in the 2022-2023 winter season! 

Here is a look at the season’s snow accumulation throughout the Mid-Atlantic. 

Lake effect snow this winter was awful with very few cold air outbreaks to bring widespread and consistent snow to areas near the Great Lakes. Despite that, the northern Mid-Atlantic in New York, especially western NY, saw some of the most snow this winter in the Mid-Atlantic, which is typically how it works due to colder temperatures. West Virginia was up there this winter with the higher terrain reaching over 75 inches and some areas close to 100 inches.

Areas in Virginia and North Carolina managed to get a few storms this year, which always makes winter better when there are a few days with natural snow. Additionally, the eastern Mid-Atlantic saw a few storms, which they have not seen in recent winters.

A closer look at the weather this winter shows what we all felt. While we did see a lot of precipitation, temperatures were often too warm to bring widespread snow. Below is a look at the NOAA Regional Climate Center data of departures from normal precipitation (top) and temperature (bottom) from December 2023 through April 2024.

The northern Mid-Atlantic into New England was downright hot this winter, with many areas 4-6+ degrees above normal across the 4 months. Precipitation favored coastal areas this winter, with many coastal storms too warm and too far off the coast to bring significant snow events.

Stick With OpenSnow This Summer

Of course, you can still use OpenSnow in the summer!

Switch to using your "Summer" favorites list, check the "Weather" tab on both the Favorites screen and any location screen, and avoid poor air quality & incoming storms with our summer-focused map layers in the OpenSnow app.

Edit any location you have favorited by going to Settings > Your Favorites > Locations.

You can also view the hourly forecast for the next 10 days for any location on Earth in OpenSnow.

1. Go to the "Maps" tab.
2. Tap anywhere on land or search for a city.
3. Tap "View Forecast".

View → Summer Weather

My favorite tools to use during the summer are the wildfire smoke map and current lightning so that I can stay safe and aware during my summer adventures.

Don't forget you can also use OpenSnow to track powder all 'summer' long. Our forecasts work on any land area on Earth for 365 days a year, and you can quickly see where it's snowing with our Powder Finder. Use the Powder Finder to plan that summer ski trip in the southern hemisphere.

Next Winter (2024-2025)

La Niña is coming! 

There is an 80-90% chance for a La Niña during the winter of 2023-2024. This means that ocean water temperatures in the central Pacific Ocean will be cooler than average, and these cooler waters change thunderstorm patterns over the tropics, which changes storm tracks around the world.

In the Eastern US, La Niña winters can bring cooler and wetter weather to areas near the Great Lakes. They can also bring warmer weather to the southern and eastern Mid-Atlantic. This fall, I will look at past La Niña winters to see how the 2024-2025 winter might shape out in the 2024-2025 Winter Outlook.

Season Wrap

The ups and downs of the 2024-2025 Mid-Atlantic ski and ride season make the East Coast hardy. This hardiness makes us passionate about shredding the slopes of the Appalachian Mountains no matter the conditions.

Cheers to many more turns, making memories, and friends on the slopes. I appreciate all those who read the forecasts and I’ll be back next season in November to give you the latest and greatest Mid-Atlantic ski forecast. The team of forecasters and developers at OpenSnow are working hard to bring more features to the app and website this summer and for the next ski season so stay tuned. Have a nice spring, summer, and fall, I'll talk to you in November!

Zach Butler

Summer Weather: How To Use OpenSnow

As the snow begins to melt and summer conditions quickly take over, remember that you can use OpenSnow as your go-to weather app during the non-winter months.

Get started by going to...

1. Favorites > Weather
2. Location > Weather
3. Maps > Weather

Switch to using your "Summer" favorites list, check the "Weather" tab on both the Favorites screen and any location screen, and avoid poor air quality & incoming storms with our summer-focused map layers in the OpenSnow app.

You can also view the hourly forecast for the next 10 days for any location on Earth in OpenSnow.

1. Go to the "Maps" tab.
2. Tap anywhere or search for a city.
3. Tap "View Forecast".

View → Summer Forecasts