AccuWeather saw the winter’s main split early. The West spent much of 2025-26 fighting warmth, rain, and shallow bases, while the Midwest and Northeast stacked more cold and snow. For skiers, that made AccuWeather a useful big-picture guide, even though the Pacific Northwest and northern Rockies proved trickier than its October map suggested. This scorecard weighs mountain snow, openings, and base durability far more than airport totals.
California: A-
AccuWeather labeled California mainly dry and warm, and ski season largely followed that script. California hit April 1 with just 18% of average snowpack, the second-lowest April survey on record, even though much of the state saw near-average precipitation that arrived as rain too often. Skiers still got a few quality windows around Christmas, early January, and mid-February. Those resets never changed the full-season picture. By late March, Mammoth sat at 72% of normal snowfall, Palisades at 70%, and several Tahoe and Southern California mountains had already closed. AccuWeather captured the season’s identity cleanly, even with less precise storm timing.
Pacific Northwest: C
This region pulled the forecast down. AccuWeather pointed to a rain-and-snow Northwest and gave Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana a snowier look than California and the Southwest. Warm Pacific influence and rain did dominate, especially at lower elevations. Sustained snow never followed in enough volume. Oregon’s statewide snow water equivalent fell to a record low in early February, Washington was already near the 5th percentile, and Washington still finished April 1 at just 53% of median snowpack after peaking about two weeks early. Skiers felt that in delayed openings, repeated rain events, and thin bases south of I-90. Bestsnow called it Oregon’s worst ski season on record, with Mt. Bachelor’s summit opening for only one day by early March. Washington had saves from Mt. Baker, Stevens, and a big mid-March cycle, but the regional call was still too optimistic.
Rockies: B
AccuWeather did solid work on the central and southern Rockies. It warned that most of the range would skew warm and dry, while Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming had the best odds of doing better. Utah and Colorado ended up historically rough. Utah’s snowpack finished at a record low and peaked three weeks early. Colorado’s April 1 snowpack dropped to 22% of median, the worst in recorded history. On the slopes, Alta finished around 55% of normal snowfall, Park City around 45%, and many Colorado resorts lost spring terrain instead of gaining it. The northern Rockies never became the clear refuge the forecast hinted at, with much of Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming still landing below normal. AccuWeather read the Rockies problem well enough. The northern half of the call lowered the grade.
Midwest: B+
For skiers in the Great Lakes belt, AccuWeather’s call held up well. The forecast leaned snowy and cold, highlighted active December lake effect, and even anticipated a January thaw before winter reloaded later. NOAA found season-to-date snowfall through January 31 above average across much of the Midwest and Great Lakes, and northern Michigan backed that up on the ground. Sault Ste. Marie logged 146.7 inches for meteorological winter, 65.2 inches above normal and its second-snowiest winter on record. Traverse City finished nearly 21 inches above normal, and regional ski operations in Michigan described the season as average to above average. The grade stays out of A range because the call ran too broad. Northern Illinois, for example, ended winter only slightly colder than average and below normal in snowfall and precipitation. The lake belts delivered. Much of the wider Midwest came in closer to mixed.
Northeast: A
AccuWeather’s eastern forecast aged well. It called for an active early and late season, heavy lake effect, nor’easter potential, and more snow than last winter across much of the Northeast. That is close to the final report card. The Northeast finished winter cooler than average, and the late-February blizzard delivered one of the season’s signature hits. NRCC found snowfall above normal at 27 of the region’s 35 major sites, with Providence and Islip logging their snowiest winters on record. Ski country looked even better than the urban corridor. By late March, Jay Peak was at 124% of normal snowfall, Stowe 116%, and Whiteface 135%. AccuWeather slightly undersold how good the northern mountain snow would be, yet the regional pattern and storm track were excellent calls.
Overall: B
AccuWeather earns a solid B. It captured the season’s backbone and gave skiers a useful read on where the danger and opportunity sat. California and the Northeast carried this forecast. The Midwest added a good, ski-relevant result around the Great Lakes. The Pacific Northwest miss, along with an overly generous northern Rockies idea, held the final mark in B territory.