Weather
A light snow window Thursday night into Friday morning is followed by a warm, windy weekend and then a lower-confidence storm signal late next week. All ten resorts are currently open, and the best near-term turns come from brief overnight refreshes rather than a sustained powder cycle: most mountains pick up only 0″-2″ through this first wave, while the stronger southern Green pocket is closer to 3″-4″.
From Thursday evening through Friday, guidance converges on the timing of a weak wave but still diverges on intensity and exact precipitation type. Snow develops Thursday evening, peaks overnight, and tapers Friday morning into midday. Snow levels during active precipitation generally hold from near 0 to about 1,800 feet, so upper-mountain terrain stays mostly snow while some lower bases flirt with mixed periods. Snow quality should be mostly moderate/fair with SLRs around 10-15, with denser 8-10 pockets where mixing intrudes. Wind during the snowfall is less disruptive than later periods, with many ridgelines in the 15-30 mph range and fewer widespread extreme gusts. Confidence is strongest in this window because lead time is short and most solutions keep the same overnight timing even with modest spread on totals.
Friday night through Tuesday trends warmer and less snowy, with guidance converging on a springlike stretch and stronger wind impacts. After the Friday wave, lingering drizzle or freezing drizzle is possible early Saturday before most elevations push well above freezing Saturday afternoon and stay mild into early next week. Snowfall in this stretch is limited, generally 0″-1″, and when flakes fall they are very dense to dense with SLRs mostly 5-9. The more consistent ski impact is wind, with many ridge forecasts in the 25-40 mph range and gusts commonly 45-70 mph Saturday into Sunday, plus occasional higher outliers. Monday and Tuesday should bring mostly soft spring surfaces by afternoon and fewer natural refreshes, with only spotty light precipitation signals.
Late Wednesday into next Friday has a broader return-to-snow signal, but confidence drops quickly as guidance diverges on intensity, snow levels, and wind strength. Timing consensus points to precipitation increasing around Thursday, then unsettled weather lingering into Friday, yet spread is large with one dry outlier and several wetter solutions. Snow levels likely start higher in milder air and then fall as colder air works in, which supports a dense-to-lighter progression if the wetter setup verifies, with SLRs near 7-10 early and closer to 12-16 later. Outside the confidence window, a realistic planning range is a potential 4″-12″ in favored terrain and 1″-6″ elsewhere, but that period remains speculative and can still trend lower.
Resort Forecast Totals (Thu Mar 05 – Sun Mar 08)
- Killington – 3″-4″
- Sugarbush – 1″-2″
- Wildcat – 1″
- Stowe – 1″
- Loon Mountain – 1″
- Sunday River – 1″
- Jay Peak – 1″
- Bretton Woods – 1″
- Cannon Mountain – 1″
- Sugarloaf – 0″-1″
