From New England to California, this season's bountiful dump of white stuff has created a deep, solid pack on the slopes. And because March typically brings the heaviest snow in many mountainous regions, some resorts already have announced that they'll keep the lifts running beyond the usual closing dates.

Despite a slow start, ski areas along Utah's Wasatch Front could set a visitor record for the fifth year running. Bountiful snow, including record-breaking accumulations at Alta in January and at Park City Mountain Resort in February, spurred crowds. Snowbird Ski Resort had a 142-inch base earlier this week and reported that it would remain open at least until Memorial Day, May 26.

"It's been fantastic in terms of snowfall," says Nathan Rafferty, president of Ski Utah. "The storms have been relentless.

"I never thought I'd see it, but some hard-core locals are powder-weary."

In Colorado, three resorts —Purgatory, Monarch and Wolf Creek— have extended their seasons into April, and Arapahoe Basin, traditionally open longer than any other in the state, probably won't close until early June.

Oregon's Mount Bachelor, with a 150-inch midmountain base, opened an additional 160 acres of expert bowl terrain this season and is anticipating some of the best spring skiing in years, a spokeswoman says. Lifts will run until mid-May.

In California, Lake Tahoe area ski resorts also have seen abundant snowfall this year. At Alpine Meadows, which stays open well into May, January snowfall was almost double the norm.  

Accumulating snow will affect the Wasatch Range of Utah, the Colorado Rockies and the Plains. At the same time, high winds will be in store for the Desert Southwest and parts of New Mexico and West Texas.

A deep dip in the jet stream has ushered in cooler air to the Southwest. With warmer air at the surface, the atmosphere will be stirred and thunderstorms will affect Southern California to southwestern Arizona. Some of these storms could produce gusty winds and small hail.

On Saturday, quarter to half dollar-sized hail fell in San Benito County, Calif., with thunderstorms developing during the afternoon and evening. A possible funnel cloud was even sighted by a deputy just east of Highway 25, 20 miles south of Hollister, Calif.  

ON THE eve of the Normandy invasion in 1944, General George S. Patton, addressing the men of the US Third Army, delivered a speech that would become legendary long before George C. Scott reenacted it on a Hollywood soundstage.

"Americans love a winner," Patton growled, "and will not tolerate a loser. Americans despise cowards. Americans play to win - all the time. I wouldn't give a hoot in hell for a man who lost and laughed. . . . The very thought of losing is hateful to an American."

Nowadays, the thought of losing a war isn't as hateful to some Americans as the thought of losing an election. Recall MoveOn.org's infamous "General Betray Us" ad last fall, which was intended to undercut the commander of US forces in Iraq. Think of Senate majority leader Harry Reid's insistence that "this war is lost and the surge is not accomplishing anything," or Barack Obama's unbudging claim that the "strategy is failed" and we must "get our troops out," or Hillary Clinton's vow that "starting on day one of my presidency, we will begin . . . to withdraw our troops within 60 days."

Were Patton alive today, his opinion of such defeatism would assuredly be unflattering - and unprintable. But his conviction that Americans have no patience for losers would be reinforced by the public's mounting confidence that the war in Iraq will be won.

According to a recent poll from the Pew Research Center, a majority of Americans, 53 percent, are now convinced that the United States will "succeed . . . in achieving its goals" in Iraq. A year ago, just 30 percent of the public thought the military effort in Iraq was going "very well" or "fairly well." That optimistic view is held today by 48 percent.

The Democratic race has entered its World War I phase, a bloody fight between two adversaries making only the most incremental of gains. And there is no reason to think either side will emerge from the trenches anytime soon.

There are 10 scheduled contests left, but thanks to proportional allocation, not enough pledged delegates to be had for either Barack Obama or Hillary Rodham Clinton to clinch the nomination. And, because of increasingly firm demographic voting trends, it appears to be a foregone conclusion who will capture most of the states left.

So on June 3rd, when South Dakota and Montana end the current voting calendar, the contours of the race aren't likely to be much different than they are today.

That means two-and-a-half months of conference calls, attacks, counter-attacks and millions of dollars spent all to move the political needle just a few inches.

“It’s going to be a long, hard slog,” predicted Jim Jordan, a veteran Democratic strategist not working for either candidate. “It’s not good for the party.”

Pennsylvania, which votes on April 22nd, and Indiana and North Carolina, which both go on May 6th, will be closely watched, as will Florida and Michigan in the event they vote again. But the stretch otherwise lacks any obvious primary of consequence or other decisive moment that could spell the end for either candidate.