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| There is barely any snow on Pyramid this year |
This winter Kodiak has been very cold and dry. I checked the climate data for the winter (click here for link) and it has been below normal temperatures except for a month from mid January to mid February when it was very warm. The precipitation totals are about 3 inches below normal, and most of that fell as rain during the warm snap. So not a lot of snow. But the snow we have gotten has stuck around, and this has made for some great cross country skiing. There is also snow at the pass so that it is easy to ski to the road.
But on Pyramid up above 1500 feet there is barely any snow. All the rocks are showing and it looks pretty dismal and stark. This winter reminds of Spring 2020 when there was also a lot of snow down low but very little on high. That year we were skiing powder in mid April right to the road (click here for post), but by mid May all the snow, even high on the mountain, was gone (click here for mid may post).
Generally, during a wetter winter precipitation falls as rain in town but builds the snow pack above about 1000 feet. By April there is deep snow above 1000 feet and maybe snow coverage below that. So in a normal year come May we lose all the snow below 1000 feet, but the deep snow above that sticks around into June. But this year as in 2020 there is simply snow 'coverage' from top to bottom. So in late April when it does melt - it will melt from bottom to top all at once. The snow pack will not stick around above 1000 feet like it does in a normal year.
Nonetheless, winter is not over yet! And I can remember years when we got all our snow in April. Last year we had practically no snow until March. So there is a chance that in the next month or so we will finally get our snowpack above 1000 feet.
I certainly hope so and fingers crossed!
Patrick
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| Last week's storm did help with the snow depth on the lower mountain |
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| This is dismal snow coverage for early April |
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