JACKSON, Wyo. — February 2021 will go down as one of the snowiest months on record in the Tetons with over 160 inches of snow recorded at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort and Grand Targhee. However, the pattern will take a break during the first week of March with sunny skies and warmer temperatures providing an early taste of spring.
Mild and sunny first week of March, but winter is not over
Technically, March 1 is the first day of Meteorological Spring as we are now outside of the coldest three-month period in the Northern Hemisphere.
This is not the same as Astronomical Spring, which is based on daylight and sun angle and begins on March 20 (which is roughly the halfway point between the darkest six months of the year and the lightest six months of the year).
Regardless, we start to notice some changes in Jackson during March, most notably longer days, more sunshine, warmer temperatures and a shrinking snowpack in town. However, winter still hangs on strong in the mountains with abundant snowfall.
The first week of March 2021 will certainly have us thinking “spring” in Jackson Hole following a cold and snowy end to February. Highs will warm up into the mid to upper 30s on Monday and Tuesday, then will soar into the mid to upper 40s over the second half of the week.
Snow conditions for skiing will transition to spring-like as the week progresses on all but shaded north-facing aspects.
However, the poor snow structure that has resulted in elevated avalanche danger nearly all season will be reactive to the warmer temperatures, so don’t let your guard down in the backcountry despite the inviting blue skies. Stay up to date with the Bridger-Teton Avalanche Center for daily avalanche forecasts.
As is usually the case with these early spring sunny and mild spells, don’t get used to it. The weather pattern will turn more active again during the second week of March with cooler temperatures and more frequent snow chances expected.
During La Nina winters, March and April are often cooler and wetter/snowier than average. During the previous seven La Nina winters (2006, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2017, 2018), March snowfall was either near average or above average at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, but never below average.
February 2021 Summary and Current Snowpack Status
February was exceptionally snowy in the Tetons. The Rendezvous Bowl Plot at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort received 171 inches of snow, making it the second snowiest February on record (behind Feb 2019) and the third snowiest month on record (behind Dec 1996 and Feb 2019) dating back to 1974-1975.
The Raymer Plot at a similar elevation JHMR’s upper mountain did even better with 193 inches of snow. The data record at this location covers a much shorter time span, so the Rendezvous Bowl Plot is used to compared snowfall totals to historical records rather than the Raymer Plot.
Take a look at the February snowfall totals from across Teton County.
February has been by far the snowiest month of the season in the Tetons this winter – check out the monthly breakdown of snow totals at the Rendezvous Bowl Plot since October.
The Town of Jackson also received above-average snowfall in February with 21 inches, but it wasn’t exceptional. By comparison, February 2019 was one of the snowiest months on record for the Town of Jackson when 55 inches fell.
Also, January ended up being a snowier month in Jackson compared to February – the reason is that Jackson experienced a big storm arriving from the southwest in late January that dumped 14.5 inches of snow in less than 24 hours.
Nearly all of the storms in February arrived from the west or northwest, which favored consistent but lighter snow in Jackson due to the rain (or in this case, snow) shadow effect of storms passing over the Teton Range from this direction.
For the season, the Rendezvous Bowl Plot is well above average with 463 inches of snowfall recorded compared to a season-to-date average of 324 inches. The Raymer Plot is now up to 467 inches and Grand Targhee is approaching 400 inches.
The Rendezvous Bowl Plot averages 389 inches of seasonal snowfall from October 1 through April 1, so this is already guaranteed to be an above-average winter even if it doesn’t snow again for the entire month of March.
Both JHMR and Grand Targhee have some of the deepest season-to-date snowfall totals of any ski resorts in the Western U.S. – though still well behind famously-snowy Mt. Baker, Wash. who is now up to 538 inches this winter.
In terms of snowpack – i.e. settled snow depths – the Tetons are comfortably above average thanks to the deep February.
The base of JHMR is above average as well, but snowfall totals dropped off farther east away from the Tetons in February – as a result, snow depth in the Town of Jackson is right around average, though snowfall totals over the course of the winter are above average.
Temperatures during the month of February ended up right around average in the Jackson Hole Valley as we avoided any major cold snaps or warm snaps.
Temperatures at the higher elevations in the Tetons (based on data from the summit weather station at JHMR) were well below average in February, as most of the storms featured cold temperatures aloft, which resulted in great-quality snow for skiers.
Alan Smith, Meteorologist
