Ski areas in California have been celebrating an early, light August snowfall ahead of the 24-25 ski season.
The brief snow shower, the result of an unusually cold front moving in after months of hot, dry weather, was reported on ski areas on Californian coastal mountains, including around Lake Tahoe, with Northstar pictured above, and at Mammoth Mountain to the south, pictured below.
The short-lived snow followed similar early falls reported on high slopes in the Canadian Rockies at resorts including Sunshine near Banff, and on Colorado mountains including Long Peak.
There are currently no ski areas open in North America with Timberline in Oregon, the last centre that had still been open from the 23-24 season, closing a week ago.
High-altitude ski areas are expected to start snowmaking towards the end of next month if conditions allow with the aim of opening from mid-October with Banff's Mt Norquay fixing the earliest definite target opening date, November 1st, if none manage to open before it.
