JACKSON, Wyo. – A cold front moved through on Wednesday morning and snow has been accumulating in the Tetons, favoring the west side of the range. The wintry spell will be short-lived, however, as warm temperatures will return this weekend and next week.
Current and Recent Weather
Leading up to this storm, the Tetons and Jackson Hole experienced about a week of warm and dry weather. High temps reached the mid 60s on three straight days from April 12-14, including a max of 67ºF on April 13, and most of the snow has melted in town.
Melting has also begun in the Tetons and surrounding ranges after reaching its maximum depths of the season at the beginning of April. Following the recent warm spell, snowpack in the Upper Snake River Basin is now 93% of average.
A cold front reached the Tetons on Wednesday morning with light snow developing across the region initially. Snow has been falling off and on in the valley all day, but temperatures have been above freezing so the snow has not been accumulating down low.
Starting around late morning and continuing through the afternoon, a relatively narrow band of heavy snow set up over the Tetons, resulting in locally heavy snowfall rates at Grand Targhee.
As of mid-afternoon Wednesday, Grand Targhee has received 7-9 inches of snow since the morning hours, with most of this falling within a 4-5 hour window.
Here is the snow stake cam at the base of Targhee as of mid-afternoon.
Jackson Hole Mountain Resort closed for the season on Sunday, but Targhee is still open through April 21, so this is a nice bonus snow event for the last week of the season.
Snowfall has been lighter elsewhere in the Tetons so far, ranging from 1-6 inches. A few more inches of snow is possible heading into early Wednesday evening, before snow tapers off overnight.
Outlook for Thursday (April 18) to Next Wednesday (April 24)
We will begin to dry out on Thursday, but a chilly airmass will linger for one more day with highs in the low 40s in the valley. A warming trend will begin on Friday and continue into next week, with highs in the 50s this weekend and 60s by early next week.
The 5-day temperature anomaly map below from Saturday to Wednesday shows the warmer air pushing in from the south/southwest and colder air (relative to average) retreating eastward.
The pattern will be relatively quiet overall, but we could see some occasional scattered showers as minor disturbances pass in the vicinity of Northwest Wyoming. The best chance of showers will be on Sunday, but any precipitation should be on the lighter side.
Also, given the warmer airmass, precipitation type will favor rain showers in the valleys and snow showers across the mid to high elevations.
Extended Outlook
Heading into late April, temperatures are expected to remain above average across Jackson Hole and throughout Wyoming.
However, the pattern is expected to turn more unsettled with low pressure systems reaching the West Coast and spreading moisture into the Central Rockies.
As a result, a wetter signal is showing up in the 1-2 week timeframe, indicating the potential for more frequent rain and snow showers (elevation-dependent).
Alan Smith, Meteorologist
