2014-15 Ski Season Summary

The following major weather patterns affected the ski season.
November: Snowfall was most consistent in the US Northern Rockies and western Canada, moving into northern Utah and Colorado during the second half of the month. Some of these storms originated in the Northwest with varying snow levels.
First half of December: There were moderate storms along the west coast with varying snow levels. These did not push inland so the Rockies were mostly dry.
Third week of December: A stronger warm storm hit the west coast with moderately high snow levels but then dumped 2-3 feet of dense snow in the Rockies, bringing decent coverage to many areas just in time for the holidays.
Late December, early January: The storm track was primarily in the Northwest, western Canada, the Northern Rockies and northern Colorado.
Mid-to-late January: This period was severely dry over most of the West. A couple of Northwest storms had high snow levels, also bringing rain into lower areas in the northern Rockies and western Canada.
First half of February: A large warm storm hit the west coast with rain below 8,000 feet and tracked into the northern Rockies and western Canada, still raining below 7,000 feet. Utah and Colorado did not get the rain, but snowfall was less than half of normal.
Second half of February, early March: Two major storms dumped a total of 5-7 feet in the Southwest and about half that much in northern Utah and Colorado. Other regions were unseasonably warm and very dry.
The rest of March: This was the most widespread drought period of the season. Western Canada got about 3 feet of snow. Elsewhere it was warm and snowfall ranged from zero in California to about 1/3 of normal in northern Colorado.
Early April: Weather began to transition, with most areas getting 1-2 feet of snow.
Rest of April/May: Few areas were open, but this period was consistently colder and snowier than normal from California through Utah and especially in Colorado.

The northern half of Colorado had the most consistent season though snowfall was still below average. Farther below average were the Southwest, where snowfall was concentrated in a short period of time, and western Canada, where much of the mid-season suffered rain and melt/freeze conditions. The other 4 regions (California, Northwest, Utah and US Northern Rockies) tied or broke their lowest snowfall records from 1976-77. The West Coast had it worst, with drought and excessive rain restricting terrain all season and closing many areas prematurely. For more detail on snow incidence by month and region, see 2014-15 Ski Season Analysis.