Much has been made of some of the snow droughts underway in what is stacking up as a historically mild winter throughout the contiguous United States. Places along the Eastern Seaboard, like Washington, D.C., Philly and New York City, have seen well below-average snow totals that typically accumulate by this point of the year.
But one place that is experiencing no-such drought is situated in the middle of the country and it just passed a major snowfall milestone after a month in, which it saw record snowfall pile up.
One of Colorado’s most popular ski destinations just became the snowiest in the state, which will be a boon for the resort throughout the spring.
On Sunday, a storm covered the Colorado Rockies with a fresh blanket of snow and sent Breckenridge Resort over the 300-inch mark on the season. Breckinridge was the first resort in the state to surpass the 300-inch benchmark, having eclipsed it just two days before Steamboat Resort hit the mark.
Not only did the recent storm cause Breckenridge to eclipse the 300-inch mark, but it also added to the resort’s record-setting snowfall in February.
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A skier being pulled down Main Street by a bicycle waves to fans during Ullr Fest honoring the Nordic God of Snow Thursday, Dec. 12, 2019, in Breckenridge, Colo. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey) |
On Thursday, Breckenridge Resort said on Twitter that it had measured more than 119 inches of snow this month alone, far surpassing the previous record for the snowiest February of 85 inches. This triple-digit snow total is also more than double the typical February snowfall in Breckenridge, which is 50 inches, Summit Daily reported.
The resort’s social media team has joked that the month should be renamed “FebruBURIED” due to the incredible record snowfall.
The storm that sent Breckenridge over 300 inches on the season was just one in a long line of snowstorms to hit the Colorado Rockies this season.
“We’ve had a persistent storm track from the Pacific, down through the Rockies and down into the southern Plains,” AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Dave Bowers said. “It’s just been one [storm] after another, essentially all winter long.”
“What has been remarkable about it is its persistence. It’s not a pattern that’s been real common for a long period of time,” Bowers added.
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The snowy pattern responsible for the record-setting snowfall is forecast to carry over right into March, keeping to weather lore that the month ‘comes in like a lion.’
“I would think that the storms will keep coming to Colorado over the next couple of weeks,” Bowers said.
AccuWeather Expert Long-Range Meteorologist predicted this pattern weeks ago when AccuWeather’s spring forecast was released. “They’ve had a busy central Rockies ski season this year, and I think that will continue to be the case into spring,” Pastelok said.
The continuous rounds of snow may draw in skiers elsewhere across the country that are experiencing a lack of snow this winter.
Although the winter started off strong in California, a long spell of dry weather has caused the state’s snowpack to run well below normal. Unless there is a major shift in the weather pattern, ski resorts across the state may end up closing a bit earlier than recent years when snow was bountiful.
“Right now, 2020 is on track to be a below-average year, but we could still see large storms in March and April that will improve the current snowpack,” said Sean de Guzman, chief of Department of Water Resource’s Snow Surveys and Water Supply Forecasting Section.
Ski resorts on the opposite side of the country are also seeing a lack of snow, but for a different reason.
“The same pattern [responsible for snow in the Rockies] has led to more rain in the eastern U.S. rather than snow,” Bowers said. “There have hardly been any nor’easters.”
Skiers and snowboarders in these corners of the country have plenty of time to head to Colorado to enjoy the plethora of snow for themselves. Breckenridge Resort is planning to keep their slopes open through Memorial Day weekend, in part thanks to Mother Nature.
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