I pulled up NOAA’s new winter outlook on a Tuesday afternoon in July — t-shirt, fan running, coffee going cold — and thought: this is exactly when resort marketers should be paying the most attention.
Not in October when your email list is already warm. Not in November when you’re scrambling to get first snowfall content out the door. Right now. In the dead of summer, when your competitors have mentally clocked out on anything snow-related.
NOAA just released their updated fall 2026 and winter 2026-27 seasonal outlook through the Climate Prediction Center. If you run marketing at a ski resort anywhere in the U.S. and haven’t looked at this document yet, that’s worth changing this week.
What the Forecast Actually Shows
Without going full meteorology nerd — the short version is regional divergence. The northern tier of the country, including the Pacific Northwest, Great Lakes, and northern Rockies, is showing elevated probability of above-normal precipitation heading into 2026-27. It’s not a guarantee, but the signal is there.
For the southern Rockies and Sierra Nevada, the picture is murkier. “Uncertain” in a seasonal forecast can go either way, and anyone who’s lived through a dry California winter knows that uncertainty should be treated as a yellow flag, not a green light.
That regional divergence matters because your marketing message in August should look completely different depending on which camp your resort falls into.
If You’re in a Favored Region — Start Now
Here’s the move most resort marketers miss: the summer window to seed snow excitement is short and almost nobody uses it.
If your region is trending favorable in the NOAA outlook, you have permission to start building anticipation right now. Not hype — anticipation. There’s a real difference. “Early indicators are looking encouraging for 2026-27” lands completely differently than “this winter is going to be epic!” One is informed communication; the other is noise.
Plant those seeds in August email campaigns. Drop a social post showing your snowmaking crew running equipment checks. Share a “what we’re watching” update with your pass holders. These touches are low-lift for your team and high-value for the guests who are already thinking about skiing in July — and some of them absolutely are.
If You’re in a Less-Favored Region — Get Ahead of the Narrative
I’ve watched resorts get caught completely flat-footed by below-normal seasons. They wait until November to start talking about snowmaking and terrain flexibility, and by then they’re playing defense with guests who’ve already booked elsewhere.
The smarter play: start building your “we control what we can control” narrative now. Quantify your snowmaking investment. Talk about terrain variety and the non-snow reasons guests love your mountain. Frame the uncertainty as part of the adventure, not a liability.
Resorts that do this proactively come out of soft snow years with brand equity intact. Resorts that go quiet come out of them with churn.
The Tactical Move You Can Make Today
Pull the NOAA CPC seasonal outlook for your region — search “NOAA CPC seasonal outlook 2026-27” and look at the precipitation probability maps. Your region’s shading tells the story in about 30 seconds.
Then write one email or social caption draft built around what you find. You don’t have to send it today, but having it ready gives you a head start when competitors are still writing their October “fall is here” content. It’s all downhill from here — in the best possible way, if you get moving early.
The resorts that win winter aren’t always the ones with the best snowfall. They’re usually the ones who were already in conversation with their guests when the first flakes fell.
What’s your resort’s summer communication strategy looking like right now — are you talking about the upcoming season at all, or waiting until October?
