It’s hardly December and already the season at Mammoth Mountain is off to a great start. According to the resort’s website, season total snowfall at the summit is already seven and a half feet after a major storm walloped the mountain over Thanksgiving. And, undoubtedly more major dumps will slam Mammoth before season’s end.
Which all raises the question: why is Mammoth so prime for major storms to unload huge amounts of snow during winter months setting record snowfall accumulations?
For this answer, we turn to a NASA scientist, a weathercaster, and a long-time Mammoth Mountain ski patroller for how and why they assess conditions during and around major storms.
The short answer comes down to geography and Mammoth’s location with respect to the rest of California’s Sierra Nevada range. But, there’s more to it than that. Hit the triangle above to nerd out for a little while on the science behind why Mammoth gets so much damn snow.
And for more highly detailed forecasts from Howard Sheckter, head on over to mammothweather.com.
