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<br />1 <br /> <br />VAIL ASSOCIATES, INC., TOWN OF VAIL, BEAVER CREEK RESORT CO. OF <br />COLORADO AND BEAVER CREEK ASSOCIATES, INC --1997-98 <br />FOR THE V AIL AND BEAVER CREEK SKI AREAS <br /> <br />The 1997-1998 winter season weather pattern in the United States was <br />significantly influenced by El Nino, a warming of the Peruvian coastal waters in the <br />Pacific Ocean due to the slowing (or reversal) of the southern hemisphere's easterly <br />winds. This slowing (or reversal) of the easterly winds inhibited the normal upwelling of <br />deeper cooler ocean water. Moisture evaporated from the Pacific Ocean over the <br />resulting warmer water was more abundant and at a closer proximity to the United States <br />than normal which caused changes to the "normal" winter weather pattern. Generally, in <br />an EI Nino year, higher precipitation amounts are seen at the Western coastal and <br />mountainous regions and in the Southern U.S. In an El Nino event, a split flow between <br />the northern and southern jet streams occurs. This caused Western Colorado in particular <br />to receive lower-precipitation than normal during the 1997-98 winter season. El Nino <br />years generally have slightly higher precipitation in the Springtime for Western Colorado. <br />There was extensive media coverage about El Nino's potential for causing above <br />normal snowfall in the Western mountainous areas (which may have included Colorado <br />on a less intensive El Nino year. As it turned out, this winter's precipitation was well <br />below normal in snowfall because ofEl Nino ... the split flow weather pattern did not <br />allow for many seeding opportunities and many precipitation systems missed Colorado. <br />