Season to conclude quietly with no snow but fantastic weather

Snow showers and squalls Wednesday provided skiers with a steal from a value standpoint and has also supplied re-enforcements to a healthy April base of snow. The chilly conditions should persist through Friday but the overrunning precipitation event which had the potential to spread another blanket of snow to Vermont will bring mostly rain and will bring all of that rain to areas well to our south. Both Thursday and Friday should feature below freezing mornings, above freezing afternoons and great visibility with intervals of sun and high clouds.

No precipitation is expected over the weekend but the weather looks simply outstanding. Temperatures may start below freezing but the combination of sunshine and the erosion of support for the recent chill will allow temperatures to surge into the 50's during the afternoon. Sunday will feature a few more clouds perhaps but a mild southwesterly breeze will support even warmer temperatures to go along with great visibility once again. Readings during the afternoon could exceed 60 in the low lying areas.

Weather models have made a decisive turn toward milder weather next week and most of the country should see the effects of this. The proposed MRG closing date thus looks very well-timed as some serious dents in the snow pack should occur by the end of the week. We will do one more wrap-up blog entry but until then enjoy the weekend.

Let me apologize for leaving the SCWB adrift for the past week. I was buried in the Caribbean (Barbados to be exact which is actually out in the Atlantic a bit but who's counting) and was promised internet access at my hotel. Alas the connection proved unreliable and I simply gave up. In the meantime winter continues to rage on, particularly as of April fools where a storm continues to strengthen as it pushes northeast in the Gulf of Maine. The consensus forecast of about 4-8 inches seems to look ok to me. Temperatures at the base will keep the snow of the wet variety but snow should continue to fall through Saturday morning and a slight drop in temperatures will allow for some powdery turns during the morning. Temperatures in the mid thirties during the afternoon along with the brighter midday skies will make the snow a bit wetter again.

Over the next week to 10 days which spans the duration of the season at MRG, there only appears to be one significant warm-up. It will come in the form of a quick surge in warmer temperatures Tuesday. The warm-up will be preceded by a period of freezing rain and rain Monday evening induced mostly by classic New England overrunning. Blustery and mild conditions will then prevail during the day Tuesday followed by showers and perhaps even a rumble of thunder Tuesday afternoon as a cold front attacks the region.

The cold weather to follow doesn't appear to be particularly anomalous but it will be the commencement of an extended stretch of generally cooler conditions that should include mostly below freezing nights and day time temperatures that struggle into the 40's if that. Flurries and snow showers will prevail for Wednesday followed by a dry day on Thursday. Another push of warmth on Friday is likely to fail to make any indentation into interior New England. Instead, we should see the possibility of snow or rain both Friday and Saturday, weather that should support MRG's continued operation through April 10th or next weekend.