Ski and snowboard forecast 2025-26: Where to find the best snow this winter
From the Rockies to New England, here’s where snow will pile up, when ski season will peak, and which slopes may struggle with warmth and icy conditions during the 2025–26 winter.
From the Rockies to the Northeast, AccuWeather’s Paul Pastelok pinpoints where skiers can expect the best conditions this season.
Winter is almost here, and for millions of skiers and snowboarders, the question isn’t if the snow will fall — it’s when and where it will pile up. AccuWeather’s long-range forecasting team says it will be a season of contrasts across the United States, with great powder for some slopes, while others face a winter where fresh snow may be a rarity.
From the East Coast resorts that depend on an early-season chill to the high-altitude mountains of the West, here's AccuWeather's ski and snowboarding forecast for the 2025–2026 season:
Best ski conditions this winter
This winter is shaping up to be a bookend season across most of the country, with the best skiing conditions expected early and late in the season.
Across the Northeast, the storm track will favor an active early winter, sending snow-producing systems from the Midwest into the Appalachians and New England. Cold air arriving in surges in early November and again in December will help resorts build an early-season snow base before icy mix periods occur in January. A potential late-season shift in the pattern could bring another round of storms in February, producing snow that will help to extend the skiing and snowboarding season into March.
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The Midwest is on track for a strong start as well, with a cold December promoting good snowmaking conditions in addition to natural snow. A midseason lull could bring some ice and freeze-thaw cycles, impacting conditions on the slopes, but the return of typical wintry weather in late January should result in more favorable conditions.
Some of the best ski conditions are predicted across the Northwest, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, where frequent storms will blanket the mountains with an abundance of snow. The best snow in these regions may fall before midwinter, with a brief quiet stretch possible in January before the pattern recharges in early spring.
Where drought, warmth will impact the slopes
The skiing and snowboarding season may start off on a good note across the Southwest and Four Corners states, with some resorts already open for the season. However, conditions may take a turn as the calendar flips to 2026.
"While it will be good to start in the Northwest and Northern California, it will most likely become poor by the end of January as the storm track shifts north," AccuWeather Long-Range Expert Paul Pastelok explained. "High elevations may still do well in January, but lower-elevation ski areas may have problems due to higher-than-average temperatures."
Pastelok added that one or two atmospheric rivers could deliver snow to California and other areas of the Southwest around the middle of the season. However, this would only temporarily improve ski and snowboarding conditions, as opposed to setting the tone for the remainder of the winter.
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