SoCal mountain resorts struggle with lack of snow to start winter season

BIG BEAR LAKE, Calif. (KABC) -- It's been a rough winter season for Southern California mountain resorts so far.

Instead of much-needed snow, many of the resorts have only gotten rain.

Walking around the community of Big Bear, tourists are hard pressed to find any snow at all, besides man-made snow at two of the ski and snowboard resorts.

The National Weather Service said on average, Big Bear receives approximately 11 inches of snow every December - but not this year.

"This year, at Big Bear Lake, we've not recorded any snowfall," said Casey Oswant, a forecaster with the National Weather Service.

Oswant also said daily high temperatures for the first three weeks of December were much higher than usual.

The historic average high temperature during that time period is 47 degrees.

But in 2025, the average high in Big Bear during that time period was 60 degrees.

"And we actually did have a record high earlier in December of 72 degrees," said Oswant. "So it's been a warmer winter for them so far."

Big Bear has received more than 11 inches of rain over the past two weeks.

Bear Mountain and Snow Summit resorts are still open with limited operations, while all ski lifts at Snow Valley and Mountain High are currently closed.