Changes in Temperature, Snowfall, Rainfall, and Ground Snow Depth Observed in Winter Daily Weather Station Data Collected at 659 and 1835 Meters from the 1970s to 2025 at Whistler-Blackcomb Ski Resort.

Whistler-Blackcomb is a premier ski resort in Canada, attracting approximately 2 million visitors annually and is about a two-hour drive from Vancouver, British Columbia. Whistler-Blackcomb has approximately 3,300 hectares of skiable terrain, a peak elevation of 2,240 meters, and a vertical drop of approximately 1,565 meters. Located at the ski resort are two weather stations: one at 659 meters (the resort Village) and a second at 1,835 meters (Roundhouse Lodge). These weather stations have been collecting daily data on air temperature, snowfall, rainfall, and ground snow depth since the 1970s. The Village weather station data record spans from 1977 to 2025. At this weather station, minimum temperatures, averaged for the winter season, are rising much faster than maximum temperatures (0.44 vs 0.10 °C per decade). Snowfall and rainfall show no noteworthy trends at the Village from 1977 to 2008. Measurements of these two variables were not made from 2009 to 2025. Ground snow depth appears to have declined significantly since 2009. The Roundhouse Lodge weather station data record spans from 1974 to 2025. At this location, average winter minimum temperatures are also rising faster than maximum temperatures (0.22 vs 0.11 °C per decade). No meaningful change in snowfall was observed at Roundhouse Lodge. However, winter rainfall has increased considerably since the early 2000s. Ground snow depth during the winter season shows no trend at the Roundhouse location. Finally, a stochastic weather generator, combined with an eight-member AR6 climate model ensemble (with an equilibrium climate sensitivity of 3.2 °C) and the emission scenarios SSP2-4.5 and SSP5-8.5, is employed to predict how daily minimum and maximum temperatures averaged over the winter season will change from 2030 to 2090.