More climate-resilient than 100% of Eastern & Midwestern resorts · 71% of all North American resorts
#1 of 68 in the East & Midwest · #64 of 220 overall
What goes into it, compared with Eastern & Midwestern resorts:
* A ranking against the North American resorts we rate, not a grade out of 100: 100 = most resilient in the field, 50 = middle of the pack. Higher scores mean the resort's terrain and weather profile are more resilient in preserving winter conditions, both today and in a future of warmer temperatures.
Less rain risk than 88% of Eastern & Midwestern resorts · 52% of all North American resorts
#8 of 68 in the East & Midwest · #106 of 220 overall
About 20.2% of winter precipitation falls as rain today, about 34% at +2°C.
How well Indianhead's winter precipitation holds up as snow rather than rain. We rebuilt 40 winters of hourly weather at the resort's base, mid-mountain and peak, then estimated whether each hour's precipitation fell as rain or snow from temperature and humidity. To see what warming would do, we re-ran the same winters 1°C and 2°C warmer. The score is a ranking, not a grade: 100 = least rain risk in the field, 50 = middle of the pack.
When might +1°C and +2°C happen?
Roughly +1°C by the mid 2030s and +2°C around 2050 for North American ski country — sooner if emissions keep rising, possibly never if they fall fast. It's already about 0.7°C warmer than the 1986–2026 average these numbers start from.
These are local winter warming above the average of the 1986–2026 winters we rebuilt (centered around 2006), not the global “1.5°C / 2°C above pre-industrial” targets, which start from the 1800s. The world has warmed about 1.37°C since pre-industrial times and is warming about 0.27°C per decade (Indicators of Global Climate Change 2025); North America's land warms roughly 1.5× faster than that, fastest in winter (U.S. National Climate Assessment). A rough guide, not a forecast: real timing depends on future emissions and varies by region and year.
| 1986–2006 | 2006–2026 | +1°C*(mid 2030s) | +2°C*(2050) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,940' Peak | 17.0% | 16.8% | 22.6% | 30.0% |
| 1,620' Mid | 19.5% | 19.8% | 26.3% | 33.8% |
| 1,300' Base | 22.0% | 22.9% | 29.7% | 37.2% |
The first two columns are the real observed weather record, split into two equal halves. * The +1°C and +2°C columns are stress tests: the full observed record replayed with that much warming added, so they show sensitivity to warming, not a forecast for a specific year. Elevations are rounded to the nearest 10 ft.
Full rain data, season-by-season history & resort comparisons →
How El Niño and La Niña winters affect Indianhead →
More naturally skiable days than 91% of Eastern & Midwestern resorts · 47% of all North American resorts
#7 of 68 in the East & Midwest · #118 of 220 overall
139 of 181 possible days today (Nov–Apr), about 111 at +2°C.
How many days a season Indianhead has enough natural snow to ski, November through April. We simulated the snowpack day by day for 40 winters at the base, mid-mountain and peak — snow piling up, melting on warm days, and getting eaten away by rain — then ran the same winters 1°C and 2°C warmer.
When might +1°C and +2°C happen?
Roughly +1°C by the mid 2030s and +2°C around 2050 for North American ski country — sooner if emissions keep rising, possibly never if they fall fast. It's already about 0.7°C warmer than the 1986–2026 average these numbers start from.
These are local winter warming above the average of the 1986–2026 winters we rebuilt (centered around 2006), not the global “1.5°C / 2°C above pre-industrial” targets, which start from the 1800s. The world has warmed about 1.37°C since pre-industrial times and is warming about 0.27°C per decade (Indicators of Global Climate Change 2025); North America's land warms roughly 1.5× faster than that, fastest in winter (U.S. National Climate Assessment). A rough guide, not a forecast: real timing depends on future emissions and varies by region and year.
| Today | +1°C*(mid 2030s) | +2°C*(2050) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1,940' Peak | 144 | 137 | 122 |
| 1,620' Mid | 139 | 129 | 112 |
| 1,300' Base | 136 | 121 | 105 |
Warmer winters don't just turn some snowfall into rain. Rain also eats away the snow that's already on the ground, in four ways:
Our model simulates all four, using a simplified version of the snowmelt model the U.S. National Weather Service uses for river forecasting.
Natural snow only — no snowmaking or grooming, so resorts that make a lot of snow stay open longer than these numbers. “Skiable” means at least 3 inches of snow-water in the snowpack (roughly a 12–18 inch settled base). Snowfall is scaled to match Indianhead's average snowfall. * Stress tests, not forecasts: the same winters replayed warmer. The model was checked against real snowpack measurements at 105 SNOTEL stations in the western U.S.; there are no SNOTEL stations near Indianhead, so treat these numbers as a rougher estimate.
We don't have mapped trail data for Indianhead yet, so this score isn't available.