We are doing some testing with a preliminary batch of 10 locations - once that testing is complete I will link them and begin loading the rest of the nordic locations! 

Saturday - Sunday:

• Might be the best conditions of the season
  • Lots of fresh snow combined with the most terrain open of the season! 

Lake Superior Region:

• Cold on the north shore of Lake Superior
• Lake effect snow for western UP over to Searchmont

Lake effect snow will continue for the south shore of Lake Superior with accumulations through Sunday afternoon in the 2-6" range. Lake effect snow showers will continue for the Ironwood, Michigan resorts, up to the Porkies, Mont Ripley, Bohemia, and over towards Searchmont into Sunday. Conditions should be excellent all weekend, with colder temperatures keeping the snow soft. 

Wisconsin:

Saturday will be an excellent day to be on the slopes, with snow lasting into the evening as chairs continue to spin after dark for southern Wisconsin resorts. 

Here is the forecast radar from the HRRR model from Saturday morning to Saturday evening with the  snow arriving in the morning in western Wisconsin:

Total snow by Sunday morning will range from a couple of inches for Mt La crosse up towards Nordic Mountain to 3-7" for Sundown, Tyrol, Cadcade, Devils Head, Sunburst, Little Switz, Mtn Top, Alpine Valley (WI), and Wilmot! 

Twin Cities:

A little bit of light snow may fall for Mount Kato and Coffee Mill, otherwise, cold temperatures will be the main story this weekend for the Twin Cities resorts. Check ahead before hitting the slopes this weekend as the cold morning temperatures could cause some delayed openings or closures this weekend. 

Southern Lower Michigan:

The snow keeps coming, after a brutal start to January, the past few days have been a welcomed sight, with snow nearly every day and more coming this weekend. The snow arrives this afternoon in western portions of lower Michigan and continues into Sunday morning. 

Latest model trends want to bring the snow slightly further north which means a little bit less for the Detroit, Michigan resorts, in fact,  the rain/snow line will be dangerously close Saturday night but at this time looks to stay just to the south.  The winner with this system looks to be Cannonsburg, with 5-9" likely, with 1-3 down by Swiss Valley, and for the rest in southern Michigan around 2-6". 

Traverse City Region:

This area will be on the northern edge of the main band of snow, which likely means 1" or so for Boyne Highlands & Nub's Nob. For the rest of the resorts 1-4" is expected in the area. The best odds for 2-4" will be for Caberfae, though Treetops may be far enough east to catch some of the better-organized snow as well. 

Here is a look at forecast precipitation from the HRRR from midday Saturday through Sunday evening:

Sunday Night - Tuesday:

Sunday night through Wednesday, the ECMWF ensembles and other models want to keep lake effect going for the south shore of Lake Superior and portions of lower Michigan. The ensembles do not have high enough resolution to capture all of the lake effect, but we can deploy a technique to help with that!

Here is an estimate of snowfall from Sunday night into Tuesday afternoon using a technique called downscaling which takes into account the forecasted conditions combined with climatological precipitation to come up with a better estimate. The main takeaway is that lake effect snow will continue for the UP, Searchmont, and the western half of lower Michigan. Don't be surprised, as we get closer and can get some of the higher resolution models to be included in forecasts if some of these totals go higher! 

ECMWF ensemble downscaled:

The models have continued the trend of snow chances around the 31st to the 1st further south and will likely miss much of the Midwest. 

I expect impacts on operations (most likely for Minnesota and Wisconsin resorts) through late next week due to colder temperatures and bitter wind chills. 

Wednesday, Feb 1 to Sunday, Feb. 5:

The main story during this time period looks to be the drier pattern for the southern half of the Midwest, with only light snow chances to end next week. With the colder temperatures, however, I do expect periods of lake effect snow to continue through late next week. 

Fantasy Land, First Full week of February (6-12):

The extended period of the models suggests we return to a wetter pattern with some milder air returning and maybe even rain. It's still way too early to pick what days this might occur and who might be the winners, but the ensembles have been consistent we see a more active period. Stay tuned. 

-Croix

Updates on Powder Tracker and Nordic Locations:

Thank you to everyone that has submitted nordic ski locations - love it! Keep them coming! Please use this form to submit any locations you would like to see added. I am about 50% done compiling a list of nordic locations to be added to the platform. 

I'm still working on creating a "powder tracker" for the Midwest and I hope to have a first draft by sometime in February. However, there are some issues with data feeds and if those continue, I may have to delay the powder tracker until next season, sadly.

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Road Conditions:

• Michigan
• Minnesota
• Wisconsin

Regions:

North Shore Lake Superior/Northeast Minnesota
Giants Ridge, Spirit Mountain, Mont du Lac, Lutsen, Bearskin, Loch Lomond, Mount Baldy

UP/South Shore Lake Superior/Lake Effect Snow Belt
Birkie, Whitecap, Powderhorn, ABR, Porkies, Snowriver, Ripley, Bohemia, Marquette Mtn, Ski Brule, Pine Mtn, Searchmont

Twin Cities Region
Trollhaugen, Wild Mountain, Powder Ridge, Hyland Hills, Afton Alps, Buck Hill, Welch Village, Mount Kato, Coffee Mill

Central Wisconsin
Granite Peak, Paul Bunyan, Nordic Mtn

Southern Wisconsin Region
Mt La Crosse, Cascade, Devil's Head, Tyrol, Little Switz, Sunburst, Wilmot, Alpine Valley(WI), Sundown(Iowa), Chestnut(Illinois)

Northern Lower Michigan/Traverse City Region/Lake Effect Snow Belt                                        Boyne Highlands, Nub's Nob, Boyne Mtn, Shanty Crk, Crystal Mtn, Caberfae, Treetops, Otsego

Southwest Lower Michigan/Grand Rapids Region/Kalamazoo Region/Lake Effect Snow Belt
Cannonsburg, Bittersweet, Timber Ridge, Swiss Valley

Southeast Lower Michigan/Eastern Michigan/Detroit Region
Mt Holly, Pine Knob, Mt Brighton, Alpine Valley(MI)