Well the horrible year, what 5 years ago, ended with a bang if I remember correctly. Some lift served areas had pretty much closed for the season until it dumped so much they were basically guilted into reopening.
Some reports that the El Nino was weakening. I don't think that will matter.
I think what happens typically is that the rut we are in is due to the fact that the jet stream is atypically too far to the south and the systems the do come by have no punch to them. In fact if you look at the satellite loops over the past 8 weeks it almost looks like weather systems are actually moving east to west off of the B.C. coast. Here the weak systems are sending their precip mostly south to north (and tonight the rain bands are actually moving southeast to northwest).
In any case, I think what typically happens in a year like this is that the jet stream will eventually have to head back north and will pass north through our region before the end of the winter or early spring. Then we get hammered for a while until it heads north for our more normal late spring.
I was up a Stevens last weekend on a short tour/avalanche class and the snowpack above 4500 ft. was not bad. Nice safe snowpack with dense low and decent powder on top. I think the snowpacks up high are ok and if we get some nice dumps on top it may offer that ideal situation of good snowpack for spring into summer with earlier than usual ease of access.
That is my hope.
Superstition tells me the reason for the less than stellar year is in fact the Olympics and too many friends getting new ski gear.
Alan
