Michigan Snow Industry talks snow

While Upper Michigan braces for a cold spell later this week, the Michigan Snowsports Industries Association has just releases the following Snowmaking facts:
  • 28 degrees Fahrenheit is the “magic number” for snowmaking.
  • Ten inches of natural snow, when packed, usually adds only one inch of snow to  the ski slope’s base while 10 inches of man-made snow usually adds about seven inches of base.  Man-made snow is more dense and durable.
  • For every 10-degree temperature drop, snowmakers can double the output of machine-made snow.
  • Humidity is a factor as well.  The lower the humidity, the better for making snow.  If you add the temperature plus the humidity, that sum should equal less than 100 for favorable snowmaking weather.
  • Michigan resident Jim Dilworth built and patented the world’s first fan snow making gun.
  • Each year Michigan welcomes between 2 million and 2.4 million skier visits to our slopes.
  • Michigan and New York are tied for the most ski areas in any state.
  • The typical ski season is 100 to 104 days long.
  • Winter travel accounts for nearly one third of the $17.7 billion-a-year Michigan travel industry.
  • No matter where you live in the state, you are within a 2-hour drive of a ski area.
  • According to National Weather Service Data, much of Michigan’s lower peninsula has seen more snow this decade than in the past forty years.
For Michigan ski and snowboard information, including programs, special offers and links to Michigan snow conditions, visit www.goskimichigan.com.