A strengthening of El Niño, a warming of the tropical Pacific Ocean that influences weather patterns, is expected to affect Colorado ski areas this winter, a Boulder atmospheric scientist said Tuesday.
“In the high country, and this is essentially everything north of Telluride, the ski resorts at the highest elevations tend to be drier with an El Niño winter,” said Klaus Wolter of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the University of Colorado. There will be fewer midwinter storms because the storm track will be mostly to the south. Wolter said the storms could be healthy, “but you shouldn’t expect a lot of powder skiing.”
Wolter said the storm track should move north in late winter, bringing heavier snowstorms to the Front Range and ski resorts just west of the Continental Divide, such as Winter Park, Keystone and Arapahoe Basin. Ann Schrader, The Denver Post
