JACKSON, Wyo. — The weather has been outstanding in Jackson Hole recently with comfortable temperatures and sunny, dry conditions for most of July. So far, temperatures are running about two degrees cooler than average for the month of July at the Jackson Hole Airport.
A “cool” and dry July so far
We experienced a wide swing in temperatures last week. A cold front early in the week resulted in some chilly mornings with a low temperature of 33 degrees at the airport last Wednesday. Jackson Hole and the Greater Yellowstone Region is one of the few places in the U.S. where near-freezing temperatures are possible in mid-July!
Temperatures quickly warmed up toward the end of the week with a high of 87 at the Jackson Hole Airport last Friday, which is the warmest temperature we have seen so far this summer.
As for rainfall, a round of thunderstorms containing little moisture moved through the area on Friday. While these storms produced more wind and lightning than rain (and thankfully, no fire starts), the airport did manage to squeeze out 0.03 inches of rain, which ended a streak of 15 straight days without measurable rainfall.
Pattern turns more active with increasing thunderstorm potential this week
The week will start out with dry and sunny weather on Monday and Tuesday, before taking a more active turn from Wednesday through Friday with a significant uptick in thunderstorm potential. The culprit will be a surge of moisture associated with the North American Monsoon, arriving from the Four Corners states and into the Northern Rockies.
The subtropical nature of this moisture source will support the potential for more intense thunderstorms than what we often see, with heavier downpours and more frequent cloud-to-ground lightning. If you have outdoor plans later this week, it’s important to not get too complacent about thunderstorms after weeks of dry and sunny weather.
To start out, Monday and Tuesday will continue the trend of warm and dry weather. Get out and enjoy! Wednesday will start out dry as well and may end up being the warmest day of the week before moisture increases from the south late in the day.
There are still questions regarding the timing of the moisture surge, but for now, it looks like the best chance of thunderstorms on Wednesday would hold off until the evening hours. Heads up if you’re camping on Wednesday night: thunderstorms will be possible during the overnight hours and into early Thursday morning as well.
Thursday is looking like the most active day of the week with a higher likelihood of thunderstorms, and multiple rounds of storms possible. As previously mentioned, these storms could be more intense with heavier downpours and frequent cloud-to-ground lightning.
Storms will be possible during the morning hours on Thursday, so heads up if you have climbing plans. Lingering moisture should result in more afternoon thunderstorms on Friday as well, though it doesn’t look as active as Thursday.
The good news for weekend warriors is that we should see a gradual downtick in thunderstorm potential on Saturday and Sunday. However, isolated afternoon thunderstorms will likely remain a part of the picture, so don’t let down your guard if you have big outdoor plans and set your peak-bagging or high pass goals for early in the day.
Alan Smith, Meteorologist
