Floods, Thaw NOT Good For Vermont/New England Ski Areas And For Tourist Revenue

Flooding in Williston, Vermont Tuesday, part of which
was caused by snowmelt from mountains you see
in the background. Those mountains, and the ski
areas up there, need a return to winter fast, as the 
storm has also damaged prospect for crowds
during the important Christmas week holiday 

 The destructive flooding we had in Vermont was easily the worst aspect of the warm storm we endured this week. 

But there's another potentially substantial problem: We're on the cusp of an important holiday week that typically draws thousands to Vermont for winter sports. The bare ground, news of the flood and forecasts of continued warm weather aren't helping. 

Businesses need the tourist revenue, and Vermont needs the tax revenue.

Before this week, it seemed like the ski season would be off to a good start. 

Those heavy, wet snowstorms in late November and early December that kept causing power outages had a silver lining: They built up a base of snow at ski resorts and other places that host winter activities.

The weather was warmer than normal, but cold enough for resorts to also make snow. 

Then Monday's storm hit.

SKI AREA DAMAGE

The flooding caused a lot of damage, but I haven't heard of any of our major ski areas suffering major physical losses.  So we're lucky in that regard here in Vermont. 

Some New Hampshire and Maine resorts DID suffer damage. That there would be this much New England flood destruction in December is uncharted territory

The road leading up to the Sunday River ski area in Maine was entirely washed out by the storm.  That cut off the resort, and left some people stranded at condos at Sunday River.

A temporary bridge was being brought in to reopen access. But it will be a challenge. The ground floor of some condos at Sunday River reportedly suffered flood damage. 

Sunday River officials said they would reopen as soon as temporary repairs and snow making equipment could be brought up and running again, but they had no timetable. 

In New Hampshire, Loon Mountain, Attitash, Canmore and Wildcat Mountain were all closed on Tuesday due to flooding. They are expected to open soon. 

VERMONT RESORTS

Here in Vermont, Mad River Glen was forced to close temporarily. It sits above the hard-hit Mad River Valley and suffered from water runoff and a loss of snow.  However, Mad River Glen reopened today with freshly groomed trails.  

Jay Peak and Killington, and probably other ski areas in Vermont, closed during the height of the storm Monday due to heavy rains and high wind, but they are now operating normally. 

As temperatures dropped Tuesday, the resorts surely fired up their snow making machines. At least the snow making operations have plentiful supply of water at the moment. 

Resorts are putting the best spin on this: "We are continuing to make snow and groom out our terrain nicely, so we expect conditions to get better and better as we make our way through the week," Killington Resort said on its web site on Wednesday. 

In Stowe, damage to a privately owned culvert reduced Route 108, which leads to the resort, down to one lane.  As of Wednesday, a temporary traffic signal had been installed to deal with the problem.  The resort, like pretty much all of them in Vermont, reported it was making snow and grooming trails to fix damage from the storm.

Slightly below normal temperatures are forecast today and tomorrow, which will favor snow making. It'll warm up over the holiday weekend, but most resorts will still be able to make snow.

The forecast turns problematic toward the middle of next week. As it stands now, it looks like we might see another rain storm. It won't be nearly the scale of what we had Monday, but any rain would dampen skier enthusiasm at the very least. 

Another issue is publicity.  I'm sure the vast majority of avid skiers know that northern New England was hit by a major December storm and flood, so that could discourage people from coming here. 

Meanwhile, cross country ski centers and snowmobile trails surely took a hit. First of all, there's no snow. So no skiing and no snowmobiling. Additionally, the flooding might have caused some damage to snowmobile trails, just after the Vermont  Association of Snow Travelers spend months fixing the trails after the summer floods. 

I haven't heard  how much damage there is to VAST trails, but it's likely not as serious as it was in the summer.

There's always hope for the rest of the winter sports season, of course. It could turn gloriously snowy in January and February for all we know, and that could make the overall winter of 2023-24 not so bad after all.  

Some long range forecasts call for winter to finally arrive at or just after the New Year, but I'll believe it when I see it.