Mount Mansfield, Vermont’s highest peak, boasts a unique microclimate. This makes accessing accurate, real-time weather forecasts crucial for skiers, riders, and anyone venturing onto the mountain. Stowe Mountain Resort provides a dedicated snow phone (802-253-3600) and a comprehensive online weather and snow report page, offering detailed daily forecasts. These include snowfall totals, snow conditions, temperatures, wind speeds, and groomed trail information.
This hyperlocal weather information is essential because Mount Mansfield’s conditions can drastically differ from the surrounding areas. Rain or sunshine in Stowe village can easily translate to heavy snowfall on the summit. Scott Braaten, a seasoned Stowe skier and the voice of the resort’s snow phone, emphasizes relying on this localized information.
Braaten combines his local knowledge with data from the National Weather Service (NWS) Burlington station to craft the daily forecast. He highlights the NWS as the most reliable source, staffed with skiers familiar with Mount Mansfield’s nuances. This localized expertise trumps forecasts from distant sources unaware of the mountain’s microclimate variations.
The accuracy of Mount Mansfield’s weather forecast stems from strategically placed weather stations near the summit. These constantly monitor wind speed, temperature, precipitation, and snowfall. This data feeds into the NWS, which publishes it online, alongside an interactive map. Simply Googling “weather in Stowe” yields village conditions, often drastically different from the mountain’s reality.
Mount Mansfield’s significant size and 4,393-foot elevation heavily influence local weather. Orographic lifting, a phenomenon where rising air cools and condenses moisture, results in frequent upslope snow. As weather systems move from the west, they encounter the Green Mountains, forcing air upwards and often producing snow.
The NWS Burlington station is developing an experimental avalanche conditions forecast, collaborating with Stowe Mountain Rescue. While avalanches are unlikely on groomed trails, they pose a risk in the backcountry terrain of Smugglers’ Notch.
Mount Mansfield’s long ridgeline also acts as a barrier, trapping weather systems and prolonging snowfall events. While some attribute increased snow accumulation to a “lake effect” from Lake Champlain, Braaten believes Lake Ontario plays a more prominent role.
Mount Mansfield’s substantial snowfall, averaging nearly 300 inches annually, is meticulously documented. Since 1954, a snow stake at 3,900 feet elevation has provided daily snow depth readings, relayed to the NWS and now monitored via a live webcam. This “Stake” has become an iconic symbol of Stowe’s snowfall.
Engineer Matthew Parilla’s interactive graph comparing current snowfall with previous seasons offers valuable insights. It helps determine backcountry safety and guides skiers planning trips based on historical snow depth trends.
Even when lower elevations experience spring thaws, substantial snow often persists on Mount Mansfield, extending the ski season. This reinforces the importance of consulting a reliable weather forecast specifically tailored to Mount Mansfield before heading to Stowe.