Is Your Local Ski Hill in for a Big Snow Year? This Is What AccuWeather Says
At a growing collection of ski resorts across North America, the 2025-26 winter season has arrived. New England joined the party this week when Killington and Sunday River opened. As is often the case, Colorado’s mountains led the early-season charge in late October. In California, Mammoth Mountain is scheduled to kick winter off later this week.
Still, we have an entire season ahead of us, and skiers, most likely, are wondering how good the snow will be where they live this winter. AccuWeather, a forecasting group, just offered its thoughts by publishing a long-range outlook map.
Here’s a look.
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AccuWeather pointed to the Northwest, Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming as among the best places to score powder this season, forecasting an early-season snowfall surge followed by another round in the spring. Conditions look similarly good in the Northeast, Midwest, Appalachians, the forecasters said.
In the Southwest and California, AccuWeather’s forecast doesn’t seem as rosy. While a few atmospheric rivers could benefit skiers, these bursts won’t set the season-long tone, they said.
“High elevations may still do well in January, but lower-elevation ski areas may have problems due to higher-than-average temperatures,” explained AccuWeather’s lead long-range expert, Paul Pastelok.
These seasonal trends all take place against a climate change-influenced backdrop. The phenomenon, said AccuWeather’s senior meteorologist and climate expert, Brett Anderson, “is tilting the odds away from dependable midwinter powder, toward more mixed precipitation and temperature swings.”
“The baseline at some mountains has shifted toward more weather whiplash, rather than consistent freezing temperatures and snow,” he added.
Previously, AccuWeather predicted a “bookend” winter in the central and eastern U.S., with the largest snow totals arriving at the beginning and end of the season.
With many ski resorts already open, we’re seeing some early-season imbalances from coast-to-coast.
This month, the East has benefitted from cold weather and natural snow, leading to the opening of Sunday River, Maine, and Killington, Vermont. A pair of ski resorts in North Carolina—Sugar Mountain and Cataloochee—have opened, too.
Out West, this month has appeared a bit more challenging.
Two Utah mountains, Solitude and Brian Head, pushed back their opening dates citing warm temperatures. Originally, Brian Head planned to open on November 7. Now, it’s eyeing a November 21 opening. To the east, numerous Colorado ski resorts are already open, but Colorado Public Radio reported that they’re facing one of the driest season starts in years.
Western skiers, don’t panic yet, though—it’s still too early to connect the weather to long-term trends. Plus, more snow could be on the way, burying your worries in fresh powder.
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