MT HOOD, Ore. — Sorry to all the skiers looking to burn off some of that Thanksgiving meal this weekend.
Mt. Hood Meadows announced on Monday that due to the lack of snow they won't be operating their lifts this Thanksgiving weekend.
The ski resort has gone nearly two weeks without any snow, though they've been able to preserve the 17 inches of snow that fell two weeks ago. Unfortunately, that's not enough to open up shop this weekend.
"We currently have a 16-inch snow depth in the base area, with 24 inches at mid-mountain," the resort said in a statement. "We still need to make it through some warming weather this week, but the 10-day forecast is once again looking very promising."
KGW chief meteorologist Matt Zaffino said the news wasn't unexpected.
"After a promising first week of November, we've been unusually dry for the last two weeks, so I'm not surprised the ski areas are delaying their opening dates," Zaffino said. "The good news for snow lovers is the weather pattern begins to change after Thanksgiving. New snow should fall, and it may be heavy, at all ski area elevations in Oregon Sunday night into Monday."
Zaffino said skiers can be confident mountain snow is on the way.
"Another storm may follow with more heavy snow around the middle of next week," he said. "Skiing Thanksgiving weekend is always great, but we're at the whim of Mother Nature. December looks more promising for mountain snow, as it usually does. And this is a La Niña year. La Niña usually delivers above-average snow to the Cascades over the course of winter and spring."
Mount Bachelor ski resort in Bend is still anticipating its opening date to be this coming Friday, Nov. 25.
In a statement, Bachelor said: "Opening Day at Mt. Bachelor is scheduled for Friday, November 25. As we get closer to opening, we will update the website with additional limitations to uphill travel while our Grooming and Maintenance teams prepare for operations. Stay tuned!"
