The days are getting shorter and cooler as we move right into the month of November. Skiers and snowboarders across Western New York are itching to get on the slopes. But nobody is more anxious to fire up the snow guns than ski resorts!
Unfortunately, in order for the hills to be painted in white, nature needs to cooperate. The temperature of the ground needs to be cold enough for snow to stick, as well as the temperature of the air for the flakes to remain in a solid state. You also need a good window of opportunity with the right weather conditions to make some snow, which nature has not provided....yet!
The Buffalo Airport is riding a streak of warmer than normal months. April was the last month to finish cooler than average. That's six months ago! So you can imagine, as of now, the soil is too warm for any flakes to stick to the ground and stay frozen for a long time period.
According to Jane Eshbaugh, marketing director over at Holiday Valley, the ski resort usually starts making snow around Mid-November. That's if the weather cooperates.
Opening target date is the day after Thanksgiving, November 25th. However, because of the warm winter last year, Holiday Valley was forced to push back opening day to the 20th of December. And if you thought that was the latest the ski resort opened, you thought wrong! December 22nd, 2001 was the latest Holiday Valley opened it's slopes to skiers and snowboarders.
The earliest Holiday Valley ever opened was the winter of 1976-77, a week before Halloween on October 22nd. Don't think we have to remind people what happened in late January of 1977.
As for the weather, there are no flakes in the forecast through next week. But get ready Western New York! The pattern is about to flip come Mid-November, as colder air flows on down from our friends up north. This will provide a few opportunities for nature to make some snow of its own.
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