October storms blanket resorts

Joel Gratz, a meteorologist and founder of ColoradoPowderForecast.com, says that this week's storm can't give us much indication for what we can expect later in the winter. "While early-season storms increase the anticipation for the season, I never use autumn storms to gauge how the winter will turn out," Gratz said. "This storm is exciting to watch, though overall it doesn't stand out as being abnormal for this time of year."

Still, the storms caused skiers and snowboarders to pounce on social media with their latest weather updates. "IT'S ONNNNNNNN!!!!!!" wrote Tanner Hall from Mammoth. Added Greg Bretz, also in Mammoth, "I woke up to a foot of snow." "Can't say I expected to wake up to this this morning!" wrote Elyse Saugstad in Tahoe. Jeremy Jones posted, "Exciting news from NOAA: "WINTER STORM WARNING ISSUED. HEAVY SNOW AND GUSTY WINDS & 5 TO 10 INCHES ABOVE 8,000 FEET ALONG THE SIERRA CREST." And Ian Provo in Utah wrote, "First storm of the winter is brewin."

The resorts joined in as well. From Loveland Ski Area in Colorado: "Get ready @Arapahoe_Basin. Looks like we have some snowmaking weather moving toward us! #racetoopen" And Oregon's Mt. Bachelor: "We've got snow!" Mammoth, which opens Nov. 10, wrote, "October or January?" Snowshoe posted on Facebook: "Still can't believe 9 inches of natural snow fell Sept. 29 - Oct. 3."

But we may be celebrating too soon, said Gratzo. "One issue with early-season storms is that they can influence the avalanche danger during the winter," Gratzo said, "depending if the snow sticks around or melts out in the final warmer weeks of fall."

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