Big Sky Resort is staring down a potentially colossal winter, with an AI-driven forecast calling for some serious powder on Lone Mountain.
According to Explore Big Sky, the model, crafted by Big Sky Resort President and COO Troy Nedved, predicts 300 to 325 inches of snow at the mid-mountain Lobo station. That’s around 13-23% above average. Higher slopes could see even more snow, with temperatures dipping two to four degrees below normal, locking in deep, lasting snowpack.
Tested over three years, the AI-forecast model nailed snowfall within 5%. Now, with 87% confidence, it forecasts a deep January and February driven by a potent ENSO-PDO amplification, a combo connected Big Sky’s heaviest winters like 2017-18 and 2010-11. Early season looks like it could be solid too, with cold temps for snowmaking.
Nedved, once a skeptic, now sees how the model could be a game-changer, from snowmaking to resource allocation. While Big Sky isn’t totally changing operations yet, the resort is considering how AI insights could sharpen mountain management.
Additionally, according to Explore Big Sky, National Weather Service meteorologist Ian Gesell backs the tech, noting AI’s knack for crunching massive datasets into hyper-local forecasts, a trend echoed by NOAA and others.
For skiers and snowboarders, the message seems pretty clear. This could be quite a massive winter. Of course weather is always unpredictable, but the data is pointing toward some serious snowfall.
