VAIL, Colorado — There's a winter storm warning that reads more like a dream come true for local skiers and snowboarders — “significant snow,” it says.
“We've been enjoying flurries of snow throughout the day here in Vail,” wrote Vail Mountain on its Facebook fan page. “Hoping it's just a taste of things to come!”
Unfortunately, the forecast also calls for high winds and blowing snow, but powder forecaster Joel Gratz, a meteorologist based in Boulder who runs the website opensnow.com, said most of the wind will blow through Saturday evening and should slow down after midnight and into Sunday.
The new storm track that kicked into gear earlier this week is showing a lot of potential for powder in Vail and Beaver Creek's future. The storm heading in later Saturday could bring up to a foot of fresh snow to the area.
Warmer temperatures during the day might mean rain for the lower elevations, but a cold front should move in by the night and turn everything to snow, Gratz said.
“I am finally excited because it's actually going to snow, for real,” Gratz said of Saturday night's storm.
Vail Mountain reported 10 inches Tuesday morning, while Beaver Creek reported 9 inches. Tuesday's powder day, however, was followed by high winds on Wednesday that did some damage to the new snow. By Thursday, there was a light rain/snow coming down that didn't do much for conditions, but by Friday morning a softer layer had formed due to light snow Thursday night.
Road conditions were fair Saturday morning, officials said. Crews in Pennsylvania and New Jersey began salting roads around midnight and plowing soon after. By midmorning, the snow had turned to sleet in Philadelphia north through central New Jersey.
Few accidents were reported on the roads, helped by the weekend's lack of rush hour traffic, but New Jersey transportation spokesman Joe Dee cautioned drivers to build in more time for trips. Though temperatures will warm up this afternoon he said, forecasters expect the wet ground to freeze again overnight.
Flights arriving at Philadelphia Airport were delayed up to two hours because of snow and ice accumulation, but most departing flights were leaving on time, a spokeswoman said.
New York City had 1,500 snow plows at the ready, each equipped with global positioning systems that will allow supervisors to see their approximate location on command maps updated every 30 seconds, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said at a morning news conference.
The equipment was installed last year following a disaster of a storm that struck the day after Christmas of 2010, when even the city's plows were stuck and stranded in drifts, and streets remained impassable for days. Bloomberg said the GPS system has already led to "vastly improved communication" between supervisors and plow operators.
“We've been enjoying flurries of snow throughout the day here in Vail,” wrote Vail Mountain on its Facebook fan page. “Hoping it's just a taste of things to come!”
Unfortunately, the forecast also calls for high winds and blowing snow, but powder forecaster Joel Gratz, a meteorologist based in Boulder who runs the website opensnow.com, said most of the wind will blow through Saturday evening and should slow down after midnight and into Sunday.
The new storm track that kicked into gear earlier this week is showing a lot of potential for powder in Vail and Beaver Creek's future. The storm heading in later Saturday could bring up to a foot of fresh snow to the area.
Warmer temperatures during the day might mean rain for the lower elevations, but a cold front should move in by the night and turn everything to snow, Gratz said.
“I am finally excited because it's actually going to snow, for real,” Gratz said of Saturday night's storm.
Vail Mountain reported 10 inches Tuesday morning, while Beaver Creek reported 9 inches. Tuesday's powder day, however, was followed by high winds on Wednesday that did some damage to the new snow. By Thursday, there was a light rain/snow coming down that didn't do much for conditions, but by Friday morning a softer layer had formed due to light snow Thursday night.
Road conditions were fair Saturday morning, officials said. Crews in Pennsylvania and New Jersey began salting roads around midnight and plowing soon after. By midmorning, the snow had turned to sleet in Philadelphia north through central New Jersey.
Few accidents were reported on the roads, helped by the weekend's lack of rush hour traffic, but New Jersey transportation spokesman Joe Dee cautioned drivers to build in more time for trips. Though temperatures will warm up this afternoon he said, forecasters expect the wet ground to freeze again overnight.
Flights arriving at Philadelphia Airport were delayed up to two hours because of snow and ice accumulation, but most departing flights were leaving on time, a spokeswoman said.
New York City had 1,500 snow plows at the ready, each equipped with global positioning systems that will allow supervisors to see their approximate location on command maps updated every 30 seconds, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said at a morning news conference.
The equipment was installed last year following a disaster of a storm that struck the day after Christmas of 2010, when even the city's plows were stuck and stranded in drifts, and streets remained impassable for days. Bloomberg said the GPS system has already led to "vastly improved communication" between supervisors and plow operators.
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