Near-record heat in high country puts ski resorts on hold
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- Created on Wednesday, 29 September 2010 13:17
- Written by Nathan
By DREW ANDERSEN, SUMMIT DAILY NEWS
Near-record heat has been sweeping through Colorado's high country, and there's no sign the unseasonably warm temperatures will leave the area any time soon.
The warm fall weather may have led to an increase in tourism in the area, but the ski resorts are on standby.
Snow production relies on a measurement known as the wet-bulb temperature - essentially a combination of air temperature and humidity levels. Copper Mountain requires a wet-bulb temperature of 10 to 15 degrees for optimum snowmaking conditions, according to David Roth, public relations guru for Copper Mountain.
“If (the wet-bulb temperature) is higher, the snow will melt. If it is lower, the snow will freeze,” Roth explained Tuesday. “We tried making snow last night, but it was still a bit too warm.”
Those evening temperatures should continue to decline in the mountains, just not as quickly as in the plains.
“The lower areas will start to experience cooler nights, and that will work its way up to the mountains,” Gimmestad said.
Once temperatures drop to ideal snowmaking conditions for both resorts and Mother Nature, it will still be difficult to determine how much snowfall Summit County will experience this season due to its positioning with respect to the storm track during a La Nina season, such as this one.
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