JACKSON, Wyo. – Strong winds and chilly temperatures on Wednesday will commence with a round of light rain showers in the valley and even some light snow above 7,000 feet on Wednesday evening. Milder conditions will return late this week and will continue into early next week, with highs in the 70s on most days.
Recent Weather
Over the past week, we transitioned from a warm and sunny pattern to a cool and unsettled pattern, but only received some modest rain amounts on Tuesday.
Late last week, there were some hopes of receiving significant precipitation this week based on medium-range model projections of a slow-moving low pressure system tracking across the Western U.S.
However, over time, the system trended further north and faster, leading to only a quick shot of rain on Tuesday. Even the prior “system” on Sunday that brought clouds and cooler temperatures ended up producing no rain across the area.
In the town of Jackson, temperatures peaked as high as 82ºF on Saturday before trending cooler in the days to follow.
On Tuesday, widespread rain showers during the morning and afternoon produced 0.15 to 0.40 inches of rain across the area, including 0.20 inches in the town of Jackson.
Here is the 7-day weather summary for the town of Jackson:
For perspective, the average high and low temperatures in Jackson on June 10 are 70º and 39º.
Upcoming Weather Pattern
Wednesday has been a cool and blustery day in the wake of Tuesday’s system. While a cooler airmass is already in place, another cold front is approaching from the northwest, and a tight pressure gradient associated with this approaching front is leading to strong winds with gusts to 30-40 mph in the valley and 40-60 mph in the mountains.
The cold front will arrive early on Wednesday evening with a band of light showers also moving through. The best chance of showers will be from about 5pm to 10pm.
The valley will see new precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, while the higher elevations will see a tenth to quarter of an inch. It will still be enough to result in cool and damp conditions this evening, especially when factoring in the wind.
Snow levels (the rain/snow line) are going to be quite low for this time of year as the evening wave moves through, ranging from 7,000 to 8,000 feet. If you’re commuting over Teton Pass this evening, don’t be surprised to see some snow falling as you drive over the top of the pass, but the roads should be fine given the warm pavement surfaces.
Thursday will start out chilly with below freezing temperatures expected in the valleys and the mountains. But highs will quickly rebound into the upper 60s on Thursday afternoon, and winds will also be much lighter.
From Friday through the early part of next week, skies will be mostly sunny with highs in the 70s each day, so get out and enjoy the beautiful weather.
Some models are hinting at a disturbance arriving from the northwest and clipping our area on Sunday. As a result, a slight chance of showers or thunderstorms can’t entirely be ruled out, but the more likely scenario is that this system misses us to the north and east, though we may see more clouds and stronger winds compared to surrounding days.
The 7-10 precipitation projection, representing the average of 50 simulations of the European AIFS Ensemble Model, primarily accounts for Wednesday’s showers along with low-end shower chances on Sunday.
Looking further out, there are some hints of a low pressure trough setting up over the Northern Rockies during the second half of next week (~June 17-21), potentially ushering in a cooler airmass that would drop temperatures to below-average levels for mid-June.
The European Model, which tends to be the most reliable of the major global models, is leading the way with the cooler projection later next week, but other models are not on board yet, so there is some uncertainty.
It’s possible we could see some shower chances enter the picture during this stretch later next week (June 17-21), but the overall pattern looks fairly moisture-starved with low potential for significant precipitation. Still, we’re far enough out that this could change, so stay tuned.
Alan Smith, Meteorologist
