WASHINGTON – More rounds of golf were played in the last two days at Liberty Mountain Resort than during the entire winter season last year.
Step outside, and the reason is clear.
But despite the unseasonably warm weather, Liberty, a golf and ski resort in Pennsylvania, is still operating at near full capacity, with all but one of its 16 ski slopes open.
“It just hasn’t been as strong of a season,” says Anne Weimer, the resort’s marketing director. “People’s perception is if there’s no snow in their backyard, how can there possibly be snow at the ski resort? But in fact, there is.”
The resort has devoted about 400 hours to making snow so far this season — which is about half the number of a full season. But Weimer says most slopes have anywhere from four to 24 inches of snow on them.
Temperatures in the D.C. area on Thursday saw a high of 55 degrees. On Wednesday, it was practically T-shirt weather, with 70 degree temperatures recorded in some areas.
Temperatures have affected ski slopes from Maryland to Maine. Northeast resorts typically open before Thanksgiving, but were delayed this year because of the weather. By mid-November, only 16 of northern New England’s 52 ski areas were open. And in Pennsylvania, only one of the state’s 24 were open.
Nationwide, the lack of snow is costing tens of millions of dollars in winter recreation, restaurant, lodging and sporting goods sales, experts say.
Last year, more than half the nation was covered in snow as a Groundhog Day blizzard barreled across the country, killing 36 people and causing $1.8 billion in damage. This year, less than a fifth of the country outside of Alaska has snow on the ground.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. Follow Andrew Mollenbeck and WTOP on Twitter.
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