JACKSON, Wyo. — April is off to a cool and active start in Jackson Hole. The past week (March 30-April 5) featured below average temperatures and significant mountain snowfall. Cold temperatures from Wednesday through Friday of last week gave way to warmer temperatures over the weekend.
Wet and snowy weather returned on Sunday and Jackson Hole experienced its first thunderstorm of the year on Sunday night with a mix of hail, graupel and snow accompanying the thunder and lightning.
The Rendezvous Bowl Plot at an elevation of 9,580 feet recorded 32 inches of snow last week, while the town of Jackson recorded 1.8 inches of snow, though the snowpack in town continues to quickly dwindle.
Settled snow depths in the Teton Mountains increased across all elevations over the past week and remain above average for early April. We are getting close to the climatological peak of snow depth at the Rendezvous Bowl Plot, which occurs on April 9.
Here are the current snow depths as of April 6.
We are experiencing a wet start to the week on Monday as a powerful low-pressure system over California is driving moisture into Jackson Hole from the southwest. Rain showers mixed with snow in the morning can be expected for the Jackson Hole Valley, before transitioning to all rain in the afternoon with snow levels rising to 7,000-7,500 ft.
Some thunderstorm activity will also be possible on Monday afternoon and evening as the atmosphere becomes unstable. Winds on Monday will be moderate out of the south/southwest.
Here is a look at the satellite image on Monday morning, which shows plenty of moisture and cloud cover across Western Wyoming.
Across the higher elevations, snow showers will be heavy at times on Monday with snow amounts through Monday night ranging from 4-8 inches in the Tetons. Rain and snow will eventually taper off late Monday evening before drying out overnight. Highs on Monday afternoon will reach the mid 40s in the valley and the low 30s at 9,000 ft. Lows on Monday night will fall into the upper 20s in the valley.
On Tuesday, we’ll begin to transition into a drier pattern with a mix of sun and clouds expected as highs reach the upper 40s in the valley. Even so, there will be enough lingering moisture to result in some spotty afternoon rain and snow showers, with snow levels during the warmest part of the day ranging from 7,500-8,000 ft.
A warmer and drier pattern will take hold from Wednesday through Friday as high pressure strengthens over the region with more abundant sunshine. By late in the week, high temperatures will be well into the 50s in the valley. Of course, just in time for the weekend, a more active pattern will resume with a chance of rain and snow showers returning to the area on Friday night.
Here is a look at the 5-day temperature forecast for the Jackson Hole Valley and Teton Mountains.
Here is the snow forecast for the Teton Mountains over the next 5 days, for elevations around 9,000 feet.
After a nice second half of the week, medium to long-range weather models are projecting a storm system to drop in from the northwest over the weekend. This would result in a transition back to wet and showery weather (a mix of rain and snow in the valley with snow up high) along with cooler temperatures.
Alan Smith, Meteorologist
