When it starts
Alta, Mar 31–Apr 2, 2026: the model's run on the day said 8.5" skiable over 3 days, best Wednesday at 4.6" (Nice day); the Atwater SNOTEL pillow gained 11" of depth. Close.
Close. 8.5" skiable in the model, 11" on the pillow: inside 3" or 30%.
Pack going in: 36" on Mar 30, 37" on Mar 31. The storm total counts from the first reading, so snow after 5pm the night before is in it.
| Day | Call | First chair | On hill | Skiable | Starts | Pillow before | Pillow after | Gain |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tue Mar 31 | Stay home | 0.0" | 0.0" | 0.0" | — | 37" | 40" | +3" |
| Wed Apr 1 | Nice day | 3.4" | 1.2" | 4.6" | ~10pm Tuesday | 40" | 50" | +10" |
| Thu Apr 2 | Nice day | 1.4" | 2.5" | 3.8" | ~10pm Wednesday | 50" | 47" | -3" |
Model: the run on the day (Open-Meteo Previous Runs, best_match). PowHound does not keep superseded live forecasts, so this is not the number you saw the night before. It is usually closer.
Clocks, local time: first chair 5pm–8am, on hill 8am–5pm, skiable is both. Stay home under 2", Nice day 2–8", Full Send 8" or more.
Pillow: snow depth at the Atwater SNOTEL station, read once a day around midnight. A day's gain is the next midnight reading minus that day's, so it runs midnight to midnight, not 5pm to 5pm. Depth is not snowfall: new snow settles and blows around, so the pillow usually reads under what fell. Not the resort report.
Verdict: close is within 3" or 30%. Season numbers and method: llms.txt.