The snow season this year started with a bang in late October, but since then we’ve seen little activity, so little in fact, that many resorts, after opening in October for the first time in years, were forced to shut back down again as they wait for more snow. Well, it seems like the wait might be over, as a fresh round of storms is set to hit California and much of the American West later this week, with the possibility of some major activity at the beginning of next week.
According to the National Weather Service in Reno, forecasts are showing a cold system combining with an Atmospheric River which could make landfall as early as Sunday. It’s still too far out to be certain, but “the trend is increasing even in the lower end scenarios that feet of snowfall will be possible across the Sierra,” said the NWS. “We will get a better sense for expected totals over the coming days. So it is increasingly likely we could see several days of significant and prolonged impacts across the Sierra as early as Sunday and extending even into next Wednesday.” Love to hear it.
Snow is on the way! Photo: NWS/NOAA
While some might be quick to blame the lack of snow on global warming, scientists are urging people not to panic – yet. “”Starting out a year below average — and even well below average — is not unheard of,” said Joel Gratz, founding meteorologist of OpenSnow. “Maybe about a third of the time in the last 20 years we’ve seen something like this. So it’s not time to sound the alarm just yet, but it’s not a great start.”
“At this point, we don’t know if this slow start is indicative of any long term-trend,” Gratz continued. “Based on past data, it doesn’t seem like it is.”
The more worrisome data is out there, however, with Denver posting a modern day record of 230 days without any “measurable accumulation” of moisture. It does look like that record isn’t going to extend much further with precipitation on the near horizon for Colorado, but the increasing frequency of these record-breaking highs and lows when it comes to weather is certainly one of the more worrisome signs of a warming planet. “Scientific studies indicate that extreme weather events such as heat waves and large storms are likely to become more frequent or more intense with human-induced climate change,” says the EPA.
