Several ski areas in Utah have announced they will follow ski areas in Colorado, California and Western Canada by opening early for the season.
First up with by Brighton Ski Resort which claims it will be the first in the state to offer skiing and boarding for 15-16 when it opens tomorrow, Wednesday 18th November.
Snowbird has also brought forward its opening date to this weekend, following heavy snowfall.
Brighton reports it currently has a 54cm base thanks to snowfall so far whilst Snowbird reports another foot (30cm) of snow in the last 24 hours.
El Nino is not being welcomed across North America however. Some areas further north and east say they tend to suffer from warmer temperatures and less precipitation in El Nino winters, including areas in Montana and the Midwest. However so far, in Montana at least, there have been good snowfalls too with Big Sky opening for a pre-season weekend earlier this month because of all the snow there.
North of the border more resorts have been announcing early openings too – including Cypress Mountain and Sun Peaks who both say they'll now open this weekend because of all the early snow. They join other resorts including Aspen and Whistler who had already announced they'd open early this weekend.