Snow Is On The Way

It is a New Year’s wish come true for skiers and ski resorts alike.

A two-week dry spell over the Inland Northwest is expected to end just in time for the holiday weekend.

Forecasters are predicting as much as 2 inches of snow tonight as a Pacific storm moves onshore.

And even more snow is forecast for ski resorts.

“They probably will get 5 or 6 inches of new snow,” said meteorologist Stan Savoy at the National Weather Service bureau in Spokane.

North Idaho and Eastern Washington ski resorts are hoping the impending storm will bring with it a flurry of skiers.

“We’re solely dependent on the whims of Mother Nature,” said Tim Newhart, marketing director for Silver Mountain Ski Resort.

So far Mother Nature has been fickle with her snow, leaving most Inland Northwest ski resorts with skimpier than usual ski crowds.

Mt. Spokane Ski Area has yet to open.

Dean Cooper of Lookout Pass on the Idaho/Montana border said the resort has had 20 to 30 percent fewer skiers on its slopes this holiday season compared to last.

Both Silver Mountain Ski Resort and Schweitzer Mountain Resort have had about half the usual holiday turnout.

“We’re hoping that gets remedied with some snow,” Newhart said. Several of the resorts were already reporting snow flurries Thursday afternoon.

“The problem is more one of perception,” said Bill Mullane, spokesman for Schweitzer. “There’s just a perception that ‘How can there be any good skiing up here?”’

Newhart believes that Mt. Spokane’s failure to open hasn’t helped.

“I think that in the skiers’ minds that when an area like Mt. Spokane isn’t operating it does something to the collective psyche of the skiers out there,” he said.

49 Degrees North has been the one resort to report an increase in skiers. General Manager Denny Burmeister said the crowds have been an average of 40 percent larger than they were the same time last year.

He believes that many of the skiers who would have gone to Mount Spokane are instead coming to his mountain. He said about 900 skiers flocked there Thursday.

About 85 percent of 49 Degrees North is open for skiing. The conditions are firm and groomed with 28 to 30 inches of snow on top.

On Thursday, Schweitzer reported 44 inches of snow at the top. Chair five and the Outback Lodge on the back side of Schweitzer remained closed Thursday.

Dean Cooper, spokesman for Lookout Pass, said the snow is firm and groomed. There is a little bit of brush sticking out but no rocks. Cooper reported 25 inches of snow at Lookout’s peak.

Silver Mountain has a 38-inch snow base at its peak. Although five of the seven lifts are open, less than half of the terrain is open for skiing, said Newhart.

“It’s not going to take much more snow for us to get other portions of the mountain open,” Newhart said. “Some snow over the weekend would give us a lot to celebrate for the new year.”

This incoming weather system formed off the California coast and is fairly mild for the end of December.

The storm will start with snow, but the precipitation will turn to rain during the pre-dawn hours Saturday, Savoy said.

During the transition from snow to rain, there is a risk of freezing rain, which could make roads treacherous for driving.

A low pressure area is expected to move onshore at the northwest tip of Washington, and kick up winds of 20 mph in Spokane on Saturday.

Temperatures are expected to rise to 42 degrees Saturday and 40 degrees on Sunday. Mostly sunny weather is expected Sunday. A chance of more rain is forecast for Monday night.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color photo