Industry News
Parts of New England have been affected by serious storms that have seen winds of up to 132mph at peak and heavy rainfall causing flash flooding on Monday, December 18, 2023. The devastating weather has forced the closure of many ski resorts since Monday. Those ski areas that managed to open Monday, shut down early as the damaging winds moved in. According to poweroutage.us, 400,000 customers were without power in Maine and around 250,000 in Massachusetts. Gregg Falls Dam and Kelley’s Falls Dam are releasing water to reduce water levels caused by excessive rainfalls. Flood warnings remain in effect for many New England areas until Tuesday, December 19, 2023.
Mt Washington Observatory, New Hampshire, reported on Monday, December 18, 2023:
“Earlier today, observer Karl Philippoff ventured into the challenging conditions to capture footage of sustained hurricane-force southeasterly winds. Upon his return indoors, our instruments recorded a rogue wind gust that reached 119 mph. The strongest summit gust associated with this storm reached an impressive 132 mph around 4 this morning, and the team has measured 2.99 inches of rain so far. Significant impacts, including strong winds and heavy rain, will persist across the higher summits and New England throughout the afternoon before gradually subsiding this evening and overnight.”
Ski areas in the Appalachian Range have seen intense levels of flooding, having received over six inches of rain in the past 24 hours. The rain melted large parts of the snow on the ground and turned small rivers into major currents. The worst of the flooding seems to have passed and the peak of the flooding was Monday around midnight. The morning will show the true extent of the damage.
WOW! This is what Jackson Falls looked like Monday afternoon, as torrential rain caused rapid snowmelt and flash flooding in the beloved White Mountains town located about two miles north of Story Land. pic.twitter.com/G0eOj5k9ZY
— WCVB-TV Boston (@WCVB) December 19, 2023
Ski resorts were either closed leading up to the storm or forced to close during the day on Monday. King Pine, New Hampshire, decided on Sunday to close for Monday, December 18, with plans to reopen on Tuesday, but given the current conditions, that seems unclikely. Loon Mountain, New Hampshire, will be closed on Tuesday, December 19, and is planning to reopen on Wednesday, December 20.
“Lincoln, Woodstock and many of our neighboring communities have been severely impacted by the recent storm. Giving you, fellow team members and neighbors some extra time to tend to their personal needs or the flexibility to lend a hand to others is the right thing to do before we start welcoming guests back to the resort.
Extra time will also allow the mountain to drain, which is essential to getting the trails back in shape for skiing & riding.
We do expect to open Wednesday with terrain on North Peak, Loon Peak and West Basin at that time. Snowmaking temps return this week and were ready to pounce. More specifics will come later.”
— Loon Mountain
Sugarloaf, Maine, opened on Monday but was forced to pause operations stating, “We’ve suffered some damage to roads and infrastructure on mountain and around campus and will take tomorrow to reassess for resuming daily operations.” Sunday River, Maine, also announced it will need to assess the situation and repair trails, roads and even a bridge before being able to reopen.
This video of a road being washed out at Sunday River Ski Resort in Maine is INSANE!!
(📸 Joe Smith) pic.twitter.com/Qf1ZnRMXEe
— Joe (@NewsProJoe) December 18, 2023
Waterville Valley Resort, New Hampshire reported five inches of rainfall in the past 24 hours. The ski area will be closed on Tuesday, December 19. “Once the storm clears and the water runs off the mountain, our team will be working around the clock to revive the snowpack and put our facilities into an operational state. Snowmaking is planned to resume Tuesday night thanks to favorable temperatures. We plan on making white gold as much as possible, so long as Old Man Winter cooperates. Please stay tuned to our Snow Report for updates on snow conditions, lift operations, and mountain services.”
Temperatures are set to drop on Tuesday and resorts are hopefull to be able to commence operations after some repairs and a night of snowmaking. Make sure to monitor social media updates of your home resort before venturing out and stay safe!
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