Big Snow in October for Taos Ski Valley

It seems that the 2009-10 ski season is going to get off to a great start. The latest storm at Taos Ski Valley dumped 14 inches of fresh powder. Even in the Town of Taos, 2,000 feet below, huge quarter sized flakes were spotted. In December and January, that has been known to happen, but not in October. On top of this storm, Taos Ski Valley is reporting 2 Feet of fresh snow in the last five days and even more on famed Kachina Peak.

The first storms started rolling in during the month of September and after a short warm spell in early October, it just turned on again. Could this be the influence of El Nino? The NOAA thinks so. In this article, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration officially announced this winter as an El Nino winter. If you aren't familiar with the effects it has on the Southwest, I can personally tell you it means pack your gear and head to Taos! El Nino winters have been known to produce some of the biggest snowstorms the area has seen. I personally remember an El Nino storm where we received 50 inches in a 24 hour period and 75 inches over a four day period.

All I know is it could be one of those years and it is already starting out pretty good. Check back often to get the scoop on what's going on.