Comprehensive snow statistics are finally available and shown below. Viewed overall, 1998-99 was a season of extremes. 12 areas in the Pacific Northwest and western Canada recorded record highs, while the southwest received less than half normal snow from December 1 to March 31.
The following major weather patterns affected the ski season.
Late October to early November: Utah and the southwest were hit by big dumps (82 inches at Wolf Creek in October!), in retrospect a very misleading start to the season.
Late November to mid-December: The Northwest quickly emerged as the prime ski region during this first series of La Nina storms. Most storms moved northeast from Washington and Oregon into Canada, leaving the entire U.S. Rockies in severe drought. One major storm moved down the Pacific coast in early December and brought snow to the Sierra.
Late December to mid-January: Storms continued in the Northwest, but also hit the northern Rockies hard from Steamboat north at Christmas, and finally into northern and central Colorado in January. California, Utah and the southwest were bone-dry for most of this time.
Late January and February: This was the most intensely stormy period of the season, dumping almost continuously in the Northwest, but snowfall was high as far south as Utah and the Sierra, and below normal only in the southwest.
March: In early March the storms continued strong only in Alaska and Canada, and spring came to most of the West for 2 weeks in mid-March. Fresh snow fell in most of the West during the last week of March.
April: The La Nina trend disappeared, and a more familiar late season snow pattern emerged. Snowfall was very high in California, Utah, Colorado and the southwest (where most areas had already closed), and well below average farther north..
For more detail on snow incidence by month and region, see 1998-99 Ski Season Analysis.
| 1998-1999 SKI SEASON SNOWFALL SUMMARY | |||||
| RECORD HIGH (10 Years Minimum) | RECORD HIGH (10 Years Minimum) | ||||
| Mt. Bachelor, Ore. 6,350 | 573 | Fernie Snow Valley, B. C. 5,400 | 364 | Dec.-Mar. | |
| Whistler Roundhouse, B. C. 6,000 | 644 | Schweitzer, Idaho | 354 | Dec.-Mar. | |
| Alyeska, Alaska 1,400 | 768 | Whitewater, B. C. 5,500 | 435 | Dec.-Mar. | |
| Big White, B. C. 6,200 | 411 | ||||
| Mt. Hood Meadows, Ore. 5,400 | 640 | ||||
| Mt. Baker, Wash. 4,300 | 1096 | ||||
| Stevens Pass, Wash. 4,061 | 763 | ||||
| Crystal Mtn 1, Wash. 4,400 | 556 | ||||
| Crystal Mtn 2, Wash. 6,100 | 596 | ||||
| HIGH | HIGH | ||||
| Mt. Rainier Paradise, Wash. 5,420 | 945 | Whiteface (Lake Placid), N. Y. 3,660 | 165 | Dec.-Mar. | |
| Berthoud Pass, Colo. 11,315 | 385 | Telluride, Colo. 11,170 | 232 | Dec.-Mar. | |
| Mt. Fidelity (Selkirks), B. C. 6,150 | 596 | Northstar, Calif. 7,800 | 379 | Dec.-Mar. | |
| Lake Louise, Alb. 6,700 | 177 | ||||
| Whistler Base, B. C. 2,200 | 262 | ||||
| Alpine Meadows, Calif. 7,000 | 515 | ||||
| Sunshine Village, Alb. 7,028 | 337 | ||||
| Silver Star, B. C. 5,200 | 276 | ||||
| ABOVE AVERAGE | ABOVE AVERAGE | ||||
| Central Sierra Snow Lab - Boreal, Cal. 7,200 | 450 | Bridger Bowl, Mont. 7,100 | 232 | Dec.-Mar. | |
| Jackson Hole, Wyo. 8,250 | 390 | Whiteface (Lake Placid), N. Y. 3,660 | 137 | Dec.-Mar. | |
| Mammoth Mtn, Calif. 9,600 or 8,900 | 424 | Tod Mt. (Sun Peaks), B. C. 6,100 | 162 | Dec.-Mar. | |
| Kirkwood (Carson Pass), Calif. 8,526 | 591 | Big Mountain, Mont. 6,700 | 281 | Dec.-Mar. | |
| Loveland, Colo. 11,200 | 384 | ||||
| Snowshoe, W. V. 4,848 | 156 | ||||
| Big Sky, Mont. 8,920 | 287 | ||||
| Sugar Bowl, Calif. 7,000 | 562 | ||||
| Keystone, Colo. 11,641 | 224 | ||||
| Sun Valley, Idaho 8,800 | 193 | ||||
| Heavenly Valley, Calif. 8,400 | 322 | ||||
| BELOW AVERAGE | BELOW AVERAGE | ||||
| Mt. Washington, N. H. 6,262 | 260 | Crested Butte, Colo. 10,150 | 128 | Dec.-Mar. | |
| Sugarloaf, Maine 3,695 | 171 | Aspen Mtn, Colo. 11,190 | 161 | Dec.-Mar. | |
| Alta, Utah 8,650 | 473 | Steamboat, Colo. 9,200 | 232 | Dec.-Mar. | |
| Taos, N. Mex. 11,200 | 215 | Telluride, Colo. 11,170 | 135 | Dec.-Mar. | |
| Southern California Composite 7,000 - 8,000 | 99 | Deer Valley, Utah 8,200 | 230 | Dec.-Mar. | |
| Mary Jane at Winter Park, Colo. 10,800 | 329 | Beaver Creek, Colo. 11,200 | 193 | Dec.-Mar. | |
| Gothic, Colo. 9,400 | 336 | Sunlight, Colo. | 143 | Dec.-Mar. | |
| Grand Targhee, Wyo. 8,200 | 437 | Waterville Valley, N. H. 3,000 | 101 | Dec.-Mar. | |
| Jay Peak, Vt. 3,000 | 305 | Smuggler's Notch, Vt. 1,600 | 210 | Dec.-Mar. | |
| Arapahoe Basin, Colo. 10,820 | 318 | Snowmass, Colo. 11,000 | 163 | Dec.-Mar. | |
| Squaw Valley, Calif. 6,200 | 275 | ||||
| Okemo, Vt. 3,300 | 154 | ||||
| Vail, Colo. 11,250 | 309 | ||||
| Snow Basin, Utah 7,700 | 267 | ||||
| Breckenridge, Colo. 11,100 | 268 | ||||
| Copper Mtn, Colo. 11,000 | 266 | ||||
| LOW | LOW | ||||
| Killington, Vt. 4,142 | 185 | Monarch, Colo. | 124 | Dec.-Mar. | |
| Stowe, Vt. 3,950 | 191 | ||||
| Snowbird, Utah 10,000 | 367 | ||||
| Stratton, Vt. 3,875 | 148 | ||||
| Brian Head, Utah 9,770 | 264 | ||||
| Wolf Creek, Colo. 10,642 | 250 | ||||
| Purgatory, Colo. 10,000 | 203 | ||||
| RECORD LOW (10 Years Minimum) | RECORD LOW (10 Years Minimum) | ||||
| Arizona Snowbowl 1, Ariz. 9,500 | 64 | ||||
| Arizona Snowbowl 2, Ariz. 10,800 | 129 | ||||