jasoncapecod
Well-known member
what a winter we had on the east coast... sorry western boys..I do love seeing a booming ridge over the west
Western North America Conditions 2025/26
- Thread starter ChrisC
- Start date
Here's are the worst western seasons through January:
1976-77 is in a class by itself for the first half of the snow season.
1976-77 ended up at 56% for the US West for the complete season, 58% if you include Canada. 2025-26 was at 56% as of March 31 for the US West and 64% including Canada. Those numbers will go up a little bit with April but not enough IMHO to get 2025-26 out of its second worst position. The other worst complete western seasons were 2014-15 (64%/67%) and 1980-81 (65%,69%).
Nov.-Jan. Percent Normal | California | Pacific Northwest | Interior Canada | U.S. Northern Rockies | Utah | Northern & Central Colorado | Southern & Western Colorado | Northeast | US West | West | All | |
76-77 | 38% | 19% | 72% | 61% | 28% | 52% | 55% | 154% | 42% | 47% | 60% | |
80-81 | 71% | 58% | 101% | 69% | 59% | 45% | 42% | 96% | 57% | 64% | 68% | |
11-12 | 42% | 104% | 107% | 81% | 61% | 59% | 81% | 71% | 71% | 76% | 76% | |
13-14 | 31% | 53% | 90% | 80% | 61% | 105% | 101% | 90% | 72% | 74% | 76% | |
14-15 | 39% | 52% | 84% | 84% | 68% | 99% | 84% | 93% | 71% | 73% | 75% | |
25-26 | 63% | 54% | 101% | 63% | 47% | 54% | 53% | 125% | 55% | 62% | 70% |
1976-77 is in a class by itself for the first half of the snow season.
1976-77 ended up at 56% for the US West for the complete season, 58% if you include Canada. 2025-26 was at 56% as of March 31 for the US West and 64% including Canada. Those numbers will go up a little bit with April but not enough IMHO to get 2025-26 out of its second worst position. The other worst complete western seasons were 2014-15 (64%/67%) and 1980-81 (65%,69%).
Not necessarily. Note 2011-12 in that table above. I have already posted twice in this thread that Northeast monthly snowfall has no negative correlation with western snowfall.
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There’s been nearly a month of that irony. There was was a 1-2 foot storm in the Front Range at the end of April. No one reopened and A-Basin never expanded upon the 9% that was open April 11.
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Nov.-Jan. Percent Normal | California | Pacific Northwest | Interior Canada | U.S. Northern Rockies | Utah | Northern & Central Colorado | Southern & Western Colorado | Northeast | US West | West | All | |
76-77 | 38% | 19% | 72% | 61% | 28% | 52% | 55% | 154% | 42% | 47% | 60% | |
80-81 | 71% | 58% | 101% | 69% | 59% | 45% | 42% | 96% | 57% | 64% | 68% | |
86-87 | 56% | 91% | 87% | 76% | 63% | 76% | 100% | 108% | 77% | 78% | 82% | |
91-92 | 69% | 86% | 94% | 78% | 83% | 86% | 80% | 69% | 80% | 82% | 81% | |
11-12 | 42% | 104% | 107% | 81% | 61% | 59% | 81% | 71% | 71% | 76% | 76% | |
13-14 | 31% | 53% | 90% | 80% | 61% | 105% | 101% | 90% | 72% | 74% | 76% | |
14-15 | 39% | 52% | 84% | 84% | 68% | 99% | 84% | 93% | 71% | 73% | 75% | |
25-26* | 63% | 55% | 101% | 63% | 45% | 54% | 54% | 125% | 55% | 62% | 70% | |
Season Percent Normal | California | Pacific Northwest | Interior Canada | U.S. Northern Rockies | Utah | Northern & Central Colorado | Southern & Western Colorado | Northeast | US West | West | All | |
76-77 | 46% | 48% | 74% | 66% | 56% | 69% | 52% | 131% | 56% | 58% | 68% | |
80-81 | 67% | 66% | 95% | 69% | 68% | 64% | 54% | 81% | 65% | 69% | 71% | |
86-87 | 65% | 82% | 87% | 65% | 67% | 70% | 87% | 98% | 73% | 75% | 78% | |
91-92 | 87% | 69% | 75% | 72% | 73% | 85% | 70% | 88% | 76% | 76% | 77% | |
11-12 | 73% | 122% | 124% | 97% | 68% | 59% | 74% | 67% | 82% | 88% | 86% | |
14-15 | 39% | 49% | 84% | 67% | 58% | 90% | 79% | 93% | 64% | 67% | 70% | |
25-26* | 70% | 61% | 101% | 67% | 52% | 54% | 55% | 97% | 60% | 66% | 70% | |
| * = 90+% of data |
- For the important early season totals establishing coverage, I’m showing November through January. 1976-77 continues to be the far the worst season overall by this measure.
- 2025-26 is actual end of season collected data, with the caveat that I’m still missing one or two areas from every western region (typically out of 8-12). The Northeast is complete. Updated June 10 with all but California and Interior Canada complete.
For the entire season, 1976-77 remains worst though not by as large a margin as for the first half. For the first half, 1980-81 and 2025-26 are similar. But the dry and hot March made 2025-26 worse for the entire season, especially in Utah and Colorado.
The other contender, 2014-15, had a much better early season than the worst 3 but ended up about the same as 1980-81 due to a sustained lean midwinter. 2014-15 like 2025-26 had a lot of rain events and was the worst overall season in the Pacific States though it was by far the best of these seasons in Colorado.
Last night I published the 2025-26 Season Analysis including month by month totals for selected areas. It will probably take until mid-June to round up the stragglers and have final data.
To no surprise the preliminary NSAA Report came out and U.S. skier visits took nearly a 15% hit vs. last year. This was similar to the declines in 1980-81 and 2011-12. None of these 3 seasons were bad in western Canada.
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I'll edit the above tables as more data comes in. I got Sunshine Village this morning. It had its 5th highest season in 2025-26 and moved the interior Canada average from 96% to 101%. Its record high year was 2011-12, another dismal one in the U.S. as noted above.
Sunshine and Lake Louise seem to benefit very well from the very warm and moisture filled atmospheric rivers that go into BC or Washington. All of interior BC can be getting rain, but the rockies are simply too high and cold, its snow in AB. I have seen several times the AR is bringing rain to the top of Revelstoke and travel a few hundred KM east to LL to find deep powder and mild mid winter temps.
berkshireskier
Active member
Part of the reason my daughter planned my surprise father/daughter ski trip this past Winter (she planned it last Fall) to the Banff area instead of Whistler/Blackcomb because she was worried about the number of rain events W/BC can get over a Winter. Probably turned out to be a good choice this past Winter, to ski at LL and SV.
Yes it did. But if scheduling before the start of ski season I'd be a lot more concerned about rocks and sustained dry spells in Banff than rain reaching the Whistler alpine. Perhaps @takeahike46er can tell us how often and when the Whistler alpine had poor skiing due to rain and periods thereafter before new snow resurfaced it.
Rogers Pass is most often the climate divide between warmer and wetter vs. colder and drier. Thus I was delighted to see that last minute spot open up this season at Chatter Creek in the Rockies vs. the snowcat areas west of Rogers Pass that were showing a lot of mixed precipitation. 2005 and 2015 were even worse for rain west of Rogers Pass. In both of those seasons I had decent ski days at Lake Louise.
I just got A-Basin stats. May was its snowiest month of the season with 39 inches, 16 of that after it closed.
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tseeb
Well-known member
My weather station had 0.02" of rain this morning.
From Mammoth's website: Mammoth is open for skiing and riding through June 7
Sonora Pass is closing for storm after they remove a semi stuck near Kennedy Meadows.
See https://mymotherlode.com/news/local/10863888/big-rig-truck-stuck-on-sonora-pass-3.html and also
"Highway 4 Ebbetts Pass will close at noon today (May 26)." and "Highway 89 Monitor Pass is also temporarily closing at noon.
National Park Service https://www.nps.gov/yose/index.htm says "Tioga Road (continuation of Highway 120 through the park) will temporarily close on May 26 starting at 5 pm due to a forecast of snow."
From Mammoth's website: Mammoth is open for skiing and riding through June 7
Sonora Pass is closing for storm after they remove a semi stuck near Kennedy Meadows.
See https://mymotherlode.com/news/local/10863888/big-rig-truck-stuck-on-sonora-pass-3.html and also
Regional Mountain Passes Closing Due To Anticipated Weather - myMotherLode.com
Caltrans reports that both Highway 108 Sonora Pass and Highway 4 Ebbetts Pass will close at noon today (May 26).
mymotherlode.com
National Park Service https://www.nps.gov/yose/index.htm says "Tioga Road (continuation of Highway 120 through the park) will temporarily close on May 26 starting at 5 pm due to a forecast of snow."
AltaGuard UDOT data was just posted this week.
It includes total precipitation as well as total snowfall. The driest years:
Season Snow Precip Ratio
1960-61 326 28.7 8.80%
1976-77 314.5 23.7 7.54%
2011-12 329.5 32.6 9.89%
2014-15 276.8 26.99 9.75%
2017-18 287.2 30.5 10.62%
2021-22 318.2 34.78 10.93%
2025-26 213 29.15 13.69%
Alta Collins 2025-26 was 307 inches at 11.35% water. Since 1980-81 AltaGuard has averaged 93% of Alta Collins snowfall. The 69% ratio in 2025-26 implies some rain IMHO. AltaGuard had more precipitation this year than in the two earliest dry seasons listed above.
It includes total precipitation as well as total snowfall. The driest years:
Season Snow Precip Ratio
1960-61 326 28.7 8.80%
1976-77 314.5 23.7 7.54%
2011-12 329.5 32.6 9.89%
2014-15 276.8 26.99 9.75%
2017-18 287.2 30.5 10.62%
2021-22 318.2 34.78 10.93%
2025-26 213 29.15 13.69%
Alta Collins 2025-26 was 307 inches at 11.35% water. Since 1980-81 AltaGuard has averaged 93% of Alta Collins snowfall. The 69% ratio in 2025-26 implies some rain IMHO. AltaGuard had more precipitation this year than in the two earliest dry seasons listed above.
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hoodskier
New member
Where are you sourcing the data from?
The monthly snowfall data I collect at the end of each season from about 85 locations.
Strictly regional.
Nov.-Dec. Percent Normal | California | Pacific Northwest | Interior Canada | U.S. Northern Rockies | Utah | Northern & Central Colorado | Southern & Western Colorado | Northeast | US West | West | All | |
04-05 | 171% | 59% | 92% | 100% | 157% | 78% | 98% | 71% | 110% | 108% | 103% |
2004-05 was a monster season in California and Utah and the PNW was the only really bad region. I already analyzed 2004-05 in the PNW earlier in this thread.
berkshireskier
Active member
Snowing at Banff Sunshine and looks like more to come.
With addition of Park City data this morning, I am only missing Heavenly, Kirkwood and Mt. Fidelity in Canada's Glacier NP. Due to change in procedures this year, I will not get the latter numbers until at least mid-July. Hopefully that's a one shot occurrence.