JACKSON, Wyo. — The first week of January featured a huge storm cycle for the Tetons with heavy snowfall and lots of welcome moisture. However, a significant break in the pattern is expected over the next 10 days with dry weather and minimal snow potential.

January 4th-8th Storm Cycle Recap

A series of powerful storms provided a significant boost in snowpack for the Snake River Basin, with snowpack increasing from 102% to 122% of average over the past week.

Snow totals in the Tetons above 8,000 feet ranged from 38-60 inches with snow water equivalent ranging from 3.4 to 6 inches.

The first part of the storm cycle on January 4th-5th featured low density snow, which made for excellent skiing conditions. However, the second part of the storm cycle came in with much warmer temperatures and high-density snow, resulting in an “upside down” snowpack that created dangerous avalanche conditions.

Jackson Hole Mountain Resort ended up shutting down the upper mountain on Thursday, January 6 due to avalanche danger, and Teton Pass, Snake River Canyon and Hoback Canyon were all shut down at times due to avalanche control.

Temperatures became warm enough on Thursday for rain to mix in with snow in the valley and temperatures peaked in the low 40s in the Town of Jackson on Friday. A cold front on Friday afternoon resulted in a changeover back to snow in the valley before tapering off on Saturday.

Here are the snow totals for January 4th-8th with snow water equivalent given in parentheses:

  • 60.0″ (6.00″) – JHMR Raymer Plot
  • 49.0″ (5.06″) – JHMR Mid-Mountain Plot
  • 47.0″ (4.30″) – JHMR Rendezvous Bowl Plot
  • 38.0″ (3.40″) – Grand Targhee – Chief Joseph Bowl
  • 26.3″ (1.69″) – Moose
  • 24.3″ (1.33″) – Wilson
  • 23.0″ (2.25″) – Togwotee Pass
  • 22.0″ (2.00″) – JHMR Base Area Plot
  • 17.3″ (1.34″) – Moran
  • 12.5″ (0.95″) – Driggs
  • 8.7″ (1.01″) – Town of Jackson
  • 8.5″ (0.66″) – Alta

Weather Forecast for Monday (1/10) to Sunday (1/16)

A ridge of high pressure has set up over the Western U.S. and will result in an extended dry spell with little to no snow this week. The only slight chance of snow will be from a weak system passing north of the area on Thursday.

Temperatures will start out cold this week in the valley with a temperature inversion in place, which will gradually weaken by later in the week.

Highs on Monday and Tuesday will be in the teens to near 20 in the valley with lows below zero. Temperatures in the mountains will be warmer with highs approaching or exceeding freezing.

The inversion is most likely to erode on Thursday due to the weak storm passing north of the area, and the valley could see highs rising well into the 30s as a result. High pressure will strengthen again heading into the weekend with strengthening inversions and colder valley temperatures expected once again.

Skies will be mostly sunny on Monday, then will become partly cloudy from Tuesday through Thursday as residual moisture works its way in from the northwest. Skies should then become mostly sunny again on Friday and Saturday.

Extended Outlook

The dry pattern will likely persist into the early part of next week. By roughly January 19-20, high pressure should finally start to break down with meaningful snow chances returning to Northwest Wyoming.

Alan Smith, Meteorologist

 

 

 

Alan is a professional meteorologist who holds a degree from MSU Denver and writes weather forecasts for Buckrail. He has lived in Jackson full-time since 2015. He is currently a Meteorologist and Operations Manager for OpenSnow, which is a weather forecasting service for skiing and outdoor adventures. At OpenSnow, Alan writes forecasts for the Tetons, Pacific Northwest, British Columbia, and North America as a whole.