Mild through Thursday but both cold and snow to follow

Mad River seems to be targeting December 13th as the grand opening. This is still several days away and I don't want to suffer from blogger burn-out early in the season so this update will be kept short. We are dealing with a temporary intrusion of mostly Pacific air in the wake of the Sunday/Monday weather event. Arctic air will make a return by early Friday and with it will come lake effect snow showers of a diminished and occasional variety. There is a clipper system Sunday that is already drawing attention. It appears likely that its interaction with the Atlantic Coast will lead to explosive intensification and at least some accumulation of snow is likely both across interior and coastal New England. Behind that system comes the coldest weather so far this season and likely the first sub-zero temperatures on the mountain by Tuesday morning of December 9th.

Guidance this morning still suggests that much of the cold across the Northern Hemisphere will maintain its focus on North America. The center of this focus remains a question however as there are indications of a westward shift in the mean trough. The result could be an all out street fight between the sub-tropical Atlantic Ocean ridge and arctic air to the west. Active weather would be one of the results including snowfall but there is the risk of precipitation of a non-snow variety. This is more or less how the crystal ball appears beginning around the weekend of the 13th or 14th. Until then however the pattern apppears favorable and there is at least one more clipper system during the middle of next week which appears poised to deliver some additional new snow for opening day.