A big thanks to "Ski The East" who tweeted on Tuesday about a blog regarding the snow season recap on our nearby slopes. All of the information below is courtesy Ski The East. Once I saw the blog I just had to show you all because I was personally interested on how the mountains faired this winter.
First, let's start with Burlington. I'd say we're done for the seasonal snowfall in the Queen City :) That means Burlington had
37.7" annual snow
Which is
-43.5" from the average and...
-90.7" from last year
This also makes 2011-2012 the 3rd-least snowy year on record at the Burlington Int'l Airport. Many of the storms that passed through the region were pushed well to our northwest. This put us on the warm side of the storms, gave us more rain and mixed precipitation events, while keeping the snow and colder air well to our north. We also had a pretty dry winter too. Precipitation totals were lower than average between November and March.
As for those mountains, here's how they did:
Total snowfall: 82"
Avg annual snowfall: 155"
Departure: -73"
Total snowfall: 159"
Avg annual snowfall: 312"
Departure: -153"
Days open: 102
Typical season length: 115
Total snowfall: 254"
Avg annual snowfall: 376"
Departure: -122"
Total snowfall: 117"
Avg annual snowfall: 157"
Departure: -40"
Total snowfall: 152"
Avg annual snowfall: 250"
Departure: -98"
Total snowfall: 65"
Avg annual snowfall: 150"
Departure: -85"
Total snowfall: 211"
Avg annual snowfall: 333"
Departure: -122"
Total snowfall: 162"
Avg annual snowfall: 269"
Departure: -107"
Total snowfall: 129"
Avg annual snowfall: 195"
Departure: -66"
Total snowfall: 114"
Avg annual snowfall: 200"
Departure: -86"
*Data courtesy Ski The East*
Again this was collected and published by Ski The East and the full blog can be seen here.
Ski The East also mentioned how long resorts stayed open this year, compared to the average length they stay open during other years. I didn't put all those numbers here, but area resorts were open (on average) about one to three weeks less than other 'more average' years.
Crunching some numbers I found that according to the stats above, area resorts got an average of 60% of their annual snowfall (compared to more typical winters). Burlington showed slightly similar results, with the airport receiving 46% of its annual snowfall. The difference lies in elevation. Since Burlington is in the Champlain Valley, the snowfall ratio of observed->average was less. In the mountains, where we had not only more snow fall, but also a few storms that produced heavy snow at the peaks and far less in the valleys, the snow deficit wasn't as great.
Still overall it was a very sub-par year on natural snow. Thanks to the snow guns and machines, resorts were still able to stay open for most of the typical season. Mid-March record heat didn't help, as resort owners and skiers watched the snow melt away and those in the valleys began to stop thinking about skiing, and rather going to the beach! Predictions on next year? No way. I'm not stepping on that thin ice that can break easily. I made predictions last fall for the 2011-2012 winter season that were way off. Seasonal forecasting isn't my strongest feature, but I'll try to work on it :) Here's to looking forward to the next season, and that it produces a little more on Mother Nature's side!
-Meteorologist Steve Glazier
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