It's official: La Niña, with its cooler Pacific Ocean temperatures causing snowstorms in the Pacific Northwest and the northern Rockies, is back for a repeat of last winter. In early September, forecasters at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration upgraded their La Niña advisory, meaning that this year's snow outlook should be similar to the La Niña winter we had last year. That northerly storm track pounded Snowbird with a record 783 inches, and Tahoe got more than 800. Even Vail beat its old high mark with 524. Based on those stats, this season could mean deep powder for the central and northern Rockies. And while New Mexico and southern Rockies resorts like Telluride and Purgatory generally get shortchanged by La Niña, they make up for it with sunny spring corn. (Telluride got hammered in April.) Meanwhile, the East Coast has seen a dozen major storms and one "Snowmageddon" in recent years, likely due to increased moisture from melting pack ice in the Arctic.
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Do It All Season (19 of 19)
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Outside Magazine, December 2011
Tuesday, November 08, 2011
Do It All Season
Where to ski for an epic winter
By: Gordy Megroz
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