Warm temperatures and little snow this winter is forcing Seven Springs Resort to make sure artificial snow is covering enough of its slopes.
Katie Buchan, a spokesperson for Seven Springs southeast of Pittsburgh, says artificial snow is a big part of the resort's operations. She said Seven Springs is taking every chance it can to make the fake stuff, which requires a sustained temperature of 28 degrees or lower.
“We actually had a really, really strong November," she said. "It was one of our strongest snow-making starts in about 10 years, so with this warm spell we're still in good shape because of all the snow we had made early in the season."
Buchan said there isn't snow in some places, such as wooded areas between ski runs, because Seven Springs needs to preserve the fake snow for the slopes themselves.
She said as soon as natural snow and cold temperatures are more reliable, those areas will be covered in snow too.
“We average about 135 inches each year. A lot of that will come in late January, February, and even March,” Buchan said. “March was one of our best months for natural snow last year.”
While the weather early this week was mild with highs in the 50s for much of the Pittsburgh region, temperatures are expected to drop starting Wednesday. However, no substantial snowstorm is in the immediate forecast.
90.5 WESA's Liz Reid contributed to this report.
