JACKSON, Wyo. — For the second year in a row, Jackson has broken its all-time low temperature record for the month of October. The temperature at the weather station in Jackson fell to -9 on Monday morning, breaking the previous monthly record of -6 set on October 30, 2019 and shattering the previous daily record for October 26 of 8 set in 1978. Records date back to 1905.
In addition, this was the earliest in the year that Jackson has ever recorded a temperature below zero. Previously, the earliest subzero day ever in Jackson was on October 29, 1917. Prior to 2019, Jackson had only recorded a subzero temperatures once since records began (in 1917), but during the past two years, there have been three subzero temperature days.
Elsewhere, the Jackson Hole Airport also recorded a preliminary low of -9 on Monday morning — while not yet “official”, this would tie the monthly record set in 2019 (however, records only go back to 1997). Moose also recorded a low of -9, breaking its monthly record, while Moran broke a daily record of -10 but just missed out on its monthly record of -11 (set in 1917).
Jackson was not the only place that experienced exceptional cold for this early in the year. The town of Potomac, Montana (located 23 miles east of Missoula) recorded a low of -29 on Sunday, which was the coldest temperature ever recorded at an official climate reporting station for this early in the year (on or before October 25).
First significant snowstorm of the season blankets Jackson Hole last weekend
Just prior to the cold snap, Jackson Hole also received its first big snow event of the season. Heavy snow fell in the Tetons with 16 inches of snow recorded above 9,000 feet at both Jackson Hole Mountain Resort and Grand Targhee from Friday night through Sunday morning. The Jackson Hole Valley picked up 2-6 inches of snow on Saturday, including 2.5 inches in the town of Jackson.
Weekend Snow Totals (October 23-25):
- 16.0″ – Jackson Hole/Rendezvous Bowl (9,580 ft.)
- 16.0″ – Grand Targhee (9,260 ft.)
- 15.0″ – Surprise Meadow (9,580 ft.)
- 15.0″ – Jackson Hole Mid Mountain (8,180 ft.)
- 15.0″ – Togwotee Pass (9,577 ft.)
- 6.3″ – Moose
- 5.0″ – Snow King (7,760 ft.)
- 5.0″ – Teton Village
- 4.0″ – Alta
- 2.5″ – Jackson
Region-wide, this storm brought heavy snow from the Pacific Northwest to the Rockies with some of the highest totals in the mountain ranges of Western Montana. The best news of all is that this storm dumped over a foot of snow right on top of the massive fires in Northern Colorado, which stopped the spread of the East Troublesome Fire which had been threatening the town of Estes Park on the eastern border of Rocky Mountain National Park.
Another Extended Dry Spell on the Way Along with Much Warmer Temperatures
As it turns out, this cold snap is both an anomaly from a historic perspective as well as from a short-term perspective. Up until this past weekend, October had been decidedly warmer than average in Jackson Hole and precipitation had been underwhelming. As it turns out, we are going to be returning to a warmer and drier pattern again following this cold snap.
It’s going to take us a few days to break out of this cold snap, thanks in part due to inversions, but the precipitation outlook over the next two weeks looks meager.
In addition, we will eventually warm up to around average by late this week (around 50), and then we are likely to experience a longer period of above average warmth through the first week of November (highs in the 50s) as a ridge of high pressure becomes established across the Western U.S.
