Today

As of right now, it’s snowing in Plymouth, NH, and the instability we’ve experienced over the last couple of days continues to produce scattered snow showers across much of New England. 

Vermont ski areas got the most out of these scattered snow squalls, with many resorts picking up 4-8 inches of new snow yesterday. Some NH ski areas tallied 1-2 inches. Cannon mountain in northern New Hampshire picked up the most with  4” yesterday, helping make Plymouth State’s annual ski day a big success. Conditions were phenomenal in the morning through most of the early afternoon, but many trails closer to the summit became icy towards the end of the day. Here are some of the latest snow reports from Vermont and New Hampshire  over the last 24 hours. Unfortunately, Maine, Mass, and CT ski areas have not reported any new snow as of right now.

 

New Hampshire

 

Cannon - 4"

Bretton Woods- 1"

Wildcat - 1"

Attitash - 1"

Vermont

 

Sugarbush 8”

Jay Peak 8”

Bromley 5”

Bolton 5”

These scattered snow showers are expected to continue through tonight and into early tomorrow morning. The most significant accumulations are expected to be in eastern New York and Vermont, while NH and ME resorts may receive a dusting to an inch of snow.

Weekend Forecast

As we have discussed earlier this week, the forecast for this weekend is very cold. As the upper level trough providing today’s scattered snow showers propagates east between today and tomorrow, a new one prepares to move in for this weekend. This trough will bring with it, an arctic cold front and sub zero temperatures. Today and tomorrow will be the last chance to hit the slopes with relatively comfortable temperatures which will range from the upper teens in the morning to mid-upper 20’s in the afternoon (at mountain bases).

Many areas across New England are expected to start both Saturday and Sunday well below 0F. If you are planning on skiing this weekend, bust out the hand and toe warmers and bundle up. Temperatures will be up to 5 degrees colder at mountain summits, and this isn’t even including wind chill (which could make it feel like 10-20 below at many mountain summits!). Frostbite could be a major concern for many skiers and boarders this weekend if the proper precautions aren’t taken. Plan on wearing many layers and taking the time to warm up  in the lodge after every other run. Stay warm and use your head! This system also may bring with it 1-2 inches of new snow by Sunday. Here’s what we can expect across New England by Saturday night.

Next Week:

After a painfully cold weekend, temperatures are expected to warm back up by the start of next week. We’ll see highs in the upper 20’s on Monday, and then temperatures may even reach the low 40’s by mid-week. Were also currently tracking a storm that is expected to reach New England by Tuesday night. If it stays cold enough, this storm has the potential to bring high accumulations of snow to New England. There is a chance this storm could start out as a rain/snow mix which would reduce the snow accumulation amounts, but at the very least we should see a few inches from this storm. This is what the NWS has for snowfall totals between now and next week. 
We’ll be back tomorrow to give any new updates on the cold weather this weekend and the potential snowstorm for next week. In the meantime, get out and enjoy the fresh powder while the temperatures are bearable!

Rob Megnia Graduate Student, Plymouth State University/New England Daily Snow