JACKSON, Wyo. — The official Town of Jackson weather station set a daily record for snowfall of 12 inches for the 24-hour period ending at 9 a.m. on Sunday, March 15. The previous daily record for March 15 was 5.5 inches in 2006. The weather station recorded one inch of snow prior to 9 a.m. on Saturday as well, so the town of Jackson has received a storm total of 13 inches of snow.

Impressively, this is the second latest date in the spring that the town of Jackson has ever recorded 12 inches or more of snow in one day! The latest that Jackson has ever recorded a foot or more of snow was on March 25, 1907 when 14 inches of snow fell.

The heavy amount of snow that fell in Jackson was surprising, and the atmospheric ingredients came together nearly perfectly. Winds were out of the south with this storm, which is a more favorable setup for the town of Jackson since typical storms with west or southwest winds lose some of their moisture when passing over the Tetons.

While southerly winds were anticipated with this storm, the game-changer is that temperatures were colder than expected, remaining near or below freezing throughout the duration of the event. Also, the low-pressure system became positioned in a way for a continuous and long-duration feed of moisture to stream into the Jackson Hole valley from the south, leading to a long period of heavy snow.

Temperatures are going to warm up well into the 40s for highs over the coming days, which will allow for rapid melting and ponding on the roadways.

The Teton Mountains also picked up significant snow amounts from this storm with 23 inches recorded at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort’s Rendezvous Bowl Plot.

Here are some of the snowfall totals from Saturday morning through Sunday morning:

  • 23 inches – Jackson Hole Mountain Resort – Rendezvous Bowl Plot (9,580 ft.)
  • 21 inches – Jackson Hole Mountain Resort – Raymer Plot (9,360 ft.)
  • 20 inches – Surprise Meadow, GTNP (9,580 ft.)
  • 18 inches – Jackson Hole Mountain Resort – Mid Mountain (8,180 ft.)
  • 14 inches – Jackson Hole Mountain Resort – Base Area (6,510 ft.)
  • 13 inches – Town of Jackson (6,240 ft.)
  • 13 inches – Snow King (7,760 ft.)
  • 13 inches – Grand Targhee (9,260 ft.)

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.