Wisconsin Ski Area Closes For The Season

Originally posted on Powder | By Ella Boyd | Last updated Mar 4, 2024 10:18 AM ET

Wilmot Mountain, WI, located between Chicago & Milwaukee, and part of the Vail Resorts network, closed for the season on March 3, 2024.

This closure came earlier than normal for the Wisconsin ski area, and was due to the lack of natural snow and warm temperatures.

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Chuck Randles, General Manager of Wilmot Mountain, wrote a heartfelt message to skiers of Wilmot Mountain Sunday morning, thanking every single person who contributed to running the resort.

However, he specifically called out the snowmakers and groomers, writing, "the warm weather required us to rebuild terrain night after night instead of building on night after night. Thank you for your hard work and commitment to keeping the resort open as long as possible. I am sad to see the season end so abruptly, but I am proud of the product we created and the fun we had with what Mother Nature provided."

Wilmot Mountain saw 15 inches this season, making things difficult to extend the season as long as normal. This week, (although closed) the resort also has highs in the upper 60s, 50s, and 40s as the week goes on, meaning any precipitation that did fall would not turn to snow.

This may be the hottest winter on record for Wisconsin.

According to the Midwest Regional Climate Center cli-MATE website, much of Wisconsin accumulated less than half of the snow that normally would accumulate during the month of January.

The counties that suffered the most were Dunn, Barron, Burnett, Polk, St. Croix and Pierce. Those counties recorded only accumulating between 10-25% of the usual January snowfall.

Some parts of southern Wisconsin recorded between 200-300% of their usual January snowfall, though. For the Madison area, the snow total at the end of January was 22.8" ranking as Madison's 12th snowiest January, and Dodgeville recorded their snowiest January on record.

But besides the great variety of winter conditions had across the state this season, the month of January officially ranks as the 10th warmest January on record. The average temperature for the state was 20.9°F which was 12.4°F above average.

February 2024 will also likely be Wisconsin's second hottest on record with a state wide average temperature of 30.9°F, roughly 13 degrees above average.

Clearly, Wisconsin ski resorts were in for a challenge this season. Let's hope they bounce back stronger than ever next winter.