Did our burning of incense and ritual sacrifice of hard-wax tins fail to appease the weather gods?

Snow during the previous week plus cold frigid weather allowed touring centers and skiers alike to enjoy the best skiing of the year overall. Near-zero daytime temps in parts of the northeast on Saturday curtailed any desire to picnic while out on the trail, but the temperature and wind both eased up by Sunday afternoon.

Good snow conditions held up during the couple of days of warm weather. But as of today many areas have now hit the ‘pause’ button on grooming or skiing. Small relief may arrive this weekend with cooler weather and some light snow.

This post is about conditions for Jan. 25, 2024, and forecast for the next few days. See jump links to Conditions and Forecast.

Conditions

‘Warm and wet’ in this case is not a sexy come-on for the cross-contry skier, but a repeated refrain on the touring center websites when referring to the conditions or the rationale for closing trails to skiing. Skiing or snowshoeing on damp, water-laden snow turns it into slush, which either melts away or hardens to ice depending on the temperature that night. Many operators will try to preserve the base for the next cold spell or snowstorm.

Hit up ‘State of the touring centers‘ or in the menu above for reported conditions as of today.

Forecast

Scattered rain, freezing rain, and fog today and tomorrow, given warm weather and precipitation types.

Weather turns cooler toward the end of the weekend. With cold air from Canada and a low pressure system southeast of Long Island, precipitation is expected from Saturday evening into Sunday or Monday. Rain primarily in the NYC metro and southern New England. Greatest chances for real accumulation in the area running from the mid-Hudson region and Catskills through western MA, southern VT, and NH.

Dry and winter-ish weather for the middle of next week, with some light lake-effect snow for western and central New York. Long-term weather (6-10 and 8-14 day) is very likely to be warmer than ‘normal’.

Daytime temps	Friday 1/26	Saturday 1/27	Sunday 1/28	Monday 1/29	Tuesday 1/30	Wednesday 1/31
Northern NY, VT, NH	Mid 30s to low 40s	Mid 30s to low 40s	30s	20s	20s	30s
NYC metro and coastal New England	Mid- to high-40s	Mid- to high-40s	High 30s to low 40s	Low- to mid-30s	Low- to mid-30s	High 30s to low 40s