2010-11 Ski Season Summary

The following major weather patterns affected the ski season.
October and early November: Widepread late October and early November storms moved from the Pacific Northwest through the U.S Northern Rockies and into northern Utah and Colorado. Most areas in these regions had strong starts and some advanced their opening dates.
Mid-November: A fairly strong but cold storm hit California, Utah and most of Colorado, leading to outstanding early conditions in the latter 2 regions affected by both early storm patterns.
Thanksgiving to mid-December: Storm patterns were similar to a month prior, mostly in the Pacific Northwest, U.S Northern Rockies and northern Utah and Colorado.
3rd week of December: A very intense storm hammered California, Utah and western Colorado, with lesser amounts in adjacent regions.
Christmas to early January: Light snow in all regions, heaviest in the Pacific Northwest.
Most of January to early February: Snowfall was concentrated in western Canada. Most of the U.S. West was in drought mode with well under half normal snowfall. U.S. snowfall was closest to normal near to Canada and in Front Range Colorado.
Mid-to-late February: Snowfall was strongest all along the West Coast and in Utah and central Colorado, with moderate snow in adjacent regions.
First half of March: Snowfall was strongest in the Pacific Northwest and western Canada, with moderate snow in adjacent regions.
Second half of March: These were the most widespread storms of the season. Virtually all western regions except the far Southwest received at least double normal snowfall.
April: Storm patterns were similar to early season, mostly in the Pacific Northwest, U.S Northern Rockies and northern Utah and Colorado. But intensity was stronger, as those regions had double normal snowfall for the entire month.
May: May was similar to an average April in terms of both temperature and snowfall throughout the West.
The expected strong La Nina snowfall pattern was present in early November, early December, early March and most of April. But as noted below most of the snowfall records were in California and along Colorado's I-70 corridor. For more detail on snow incidence by month and region, see 2010-11 Ski Season Analysis.

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