Snow on the mountains

You know it’s an early snowfall when it catches the employees at a ski area by surprise.

As much as a foot of fresh snow – the first heavy accumulation of the season – fell Tuesday and Wednesday at Mt. Spokane Ski and Snowboard Park.

Similar amounts were reported across the upper elevations of the region this week, raising the prospect of an early ski season.

Snow-handling equipment was still in storage, and some employees had yet to put on their traction tires when the snow arrived, said Brad McQuarrie, general manager at Mt. Spokane. “It’s pretty huge coming all at once like that,” he said. “We are definitely adjusting.”

Forecasters in Spokane said a mild storm system is expected to bring rain to the mountains today and Friday, but cooler weather over the weekend should mean more mountain snowfall. The outlook for next week calls for yet more snow in the mountains, said forecaster Steve Bodnar of the National Weather Service office in Spokane County.

Snow in the mountains is typical for the first half of November, but snow at lower elevations is not, he said. The average date of the first one-inch snowfall in Spokane is Nov. 24, Bodnar said.

There is a small chance of snow or sleet this morning in central Washington, at the base of the Cascade Mountains, but after that, the risk of snow in the valleys and Columbia Basin is diminished. “The chance of seeing snow here in Spokane is pretty slim,” Bodnar said about today’s forecast.

At Schweitzer Mountain Resort in North Idaho, a total of 10 inches of snow was reported. “It’s quite a winter wonderland,” said Jennifer Ekstrom, communications manager at the mountain.

She said it’s too early to know when the ski area will open. But history shows that an early opening on the weekend of Thanksgiving occurs one out of every four years, Ekstrom said.

“We’re geared up to open whenever the snowpack allows us to open,” she said.

Early openings give resorts more time to turn a profit and cash in on the crowds that are likely to show up during the holiday season.

At 49 Degrees North near Chewelah, Wash., a total of 9 inches was reported. Lookout Pass Ski and Recreation Area on Interstate 90 east of Kellogg had 4 inches while the mountain camera at Silver Mountain Resort showed a layer of fresh snow as well.

Bodnar said the Weather Service outlook through the end of November calls for a chance of above-normal precipitation along with seasonal temperatures across the region. The average high for today in Spokane is 46 degrees while the average low is 31. Today’s high is forecast at 45 degrees.