Santa Claus won’t have any trouble delivering presents to kids, and the young-at-heart, in Grreater Trail on Christmas Eve.
Jesse Ellis, fire weather forecaster at the Southeast Fire Centre, says Santa and his reindeer will have clear skies all the way from the North Pole to Trail.
“I am not joking,” he said. “For Wednesday night, and this is interesting, there is a clear patch of air all the way from the North Pole to B.C.”
For those wondering if Trail is going to have a white Christmas, Ellis says it is hard to predict, but he was calling for snow last night before the skies clear up for the man in red and his sleigh.
“There will be some rain and snow in the valley bottom, that will probably turn into snow on Tuesday night,” he said. “The clear patch I am talking about is in between that system and the next one that is pushing up against the coast. Some of Tuesday night’s snow will linger around for Christmas day.”
On Christmas day, Ellis says it will be a bit drier outside, and Trail residents should expect some snow.
The fluffy white stuff will be falling slowly on Christmas in Trail, but in Rossland, there is already enough snow for Red Mountain to open up some more runs, just in time for a Christmas Day trip down the slopes.
“In short, the plan is to have Granite and Red mountains fully open for Dec. 24,” said Christine Andison, director of planning and development at Red.
“Then, we are looking at the 27th or the 28th of December for Grey Mountain.”
Grey still needs a few checks by the resort’s snow safety team, and Granite requires a bit more snow before it can be fully opened safely.
In the most recent newsletter from Red Mountain, it was announced that the T-bar and Red Carpet are open for skiers, while the Silverlode chairlift opened on Tuesday.
Since Oct. 1, Red Mountain has received 197 cm of snowfall, with the current alpine snow depth sitting at 102 cm.
Off the slopes and on the roads, Sergeant Darren Oelke with the Trail RCMP wants to remind holiday revellers to stay safe when going to and from holiday parties and celebrations.
“Make sure to plan for a safe ride home if you are planning to drink while enjoying the Christmas holidays,” he said. “Make sure to use the taxi service or the usual designated driver or a ride home with a friend.”
Oelke says that every holiday season, the Trail RCMP, along with Kootenay Traffic Services, will be on the roads with check stops trying to catch drivers who have had too much to drink, but also to prevent drunk driving.
“Word gets around fast when we are out there,” he said. “We usually stay in one spot for half an hour or an hour, then move it, but if we can act as a deterrent and get someone to find another way to get home (then we did our job).”
Oelke has one final message for the residents of Trail this holiday season.
“Have a Merry Christmas, and stay safe.”