Too early to think about ski season? Here’s where the powder could fall

OK, so much of the country is just getting over the summer heat wave. But the leaves are starting to turn and ski and snowboard swaps are just around the corner. Lifts will start spinning at winter resorts before you know it. Some have projected opening dates in late October, just two months away.
So, where will the powder land this winter? Let’s take a peek at the Farmers’ Almanac, the 200-plus-year-old publication originally written to help agriculturists plan for the planting of crops that provides a winter forecast every August.
“The astronomical start of winter begins with the winter solstice on Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. This winter, La Niña, which refers to the periodic cooling of ocean surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific, is expected to develop and hang on through the season. Taking into account the effect La Niña has on the weather, along with our longstanding formula, we anticipate the winter of 2024-25 will be wet and cold for most locations,” according to the almanac.
The coldest winter temperatures will be in the Northern Plains to the Great Lakes. But areas east of the Rockies into the Appalachians will also experience many periods of cold conditions, the almanac says. The almanac forecasts the coldest day in the final week of January and into early February, when frigid Arctic air brings a sharp drop in temperatures almost nationwide, but especially across the Northern Plains. As the very cold air blows across the Great Lakes, heavy snow showers and snow squalls will bring intense bursts of snow east of the Lakes.
According to Ski magazine, that bodes well for resorts in Michigan and Wisconsin, where colder temps and more moisture is likely to result in a snowy season. It’s also good news for the mountains of Wyoming, Montana and northern Colorado, where colder temperatures are forecast.
As for rest of ski country, the almanac predicts an average season in California, Idaho and Utah, both in temperature and precipitation and a wetter and slightly chillier-than-average winter in Washington and Oregon. “That can go either way in the maritime climate of the Cascades range, but we’re going to land on the side of optimism and visualize a powder-filled season into existence,” Ski magazine says.
Ski magazine points out that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration also calls for a La Niña season, with the snowier-than-average conditions hitting the same parts of the country. Both predict Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire will get slightly more snow than an average ski season.
The almanac is “red flagging” the last week of January over most of the eastern half of the country because of a very active storm track it expects will deliver frequent heavy precipitation along with strong and gusty winds. Specifically, Jan. 20-23 and Jan. 24-27 could see lots of snow, rain, sleet and ice.