Winter 2024-2025 was warmer than average with near average snowfall

JACKSON, Wyo. – Snowfall was close to average this season in the Tetons with 445 inches of snow measured at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort’s upper mountain and 91.5 inches in the town of Jackson. Similar to last year, this was a back-loaded season with heavy snowfall in February and March.

October

Leading up to the winter season, October was much warmer and drier this normal with minimal snowfall across the high elevations. The Rendezvous Bowl Plot at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort (elevation 9,580 feet) only received 8 inches of snowfall in October, which is well below its average of 31 inches, and the town of Jackson did not receive any measurable snowfall.

November

Snowfall was near average in November and temperatures were slightly below average, though snow depths in the Tetons were still below average at the end of the month after the slow start to October.

Rendezvous Bowl received 60 inches of snowfall in November while the town of Jackson received 10.9 inches of snowfall.

December

December started out very dry and mild with snowpack near record low levels for the date as of December 8th.

However, mid to late December was much more active with frequent storms and heavy snowfall. Rendezvous Bowl ended up with 94 inches of snowfall in December and the town of Jackson received 22.5 inches of snowfall, both of which are slightly above average.

Despite the uptick in snowfall, temperatures were much warmer than average in December and the town of Jackson did not record a single subzero day. This was the only time in the past 15 years that Jackson did not record a subzero temperature in December.

January

January started out active with significant mountain snowfall during the first week of the month, but mid to late January was much drier than normal. Rendezvous Bowl only received 55 inches of snowfall in January, and the town of Jackson only received 6.9 inches of snowfall, both of which are well below average.

January was also much colder than any other winter month, with temperatures running below average in Jackson, partly due to frequent temperature inversions. Jackson recorded 17 subzero days in January after not having any subzero days in November or December.

February

The pattern flipped at the beginning of February, and this turned out to be by far the snowiest month of the season with frequent strong storms. Rendezvous Bowl received 135 inches of snowfall in February (4th highest February total on record) and the town of Jackson received 30.8 inches of snowfall.

Temperatures were also much warmer than average in February and several rain events occurred in the valley. A significant rain event early in the month nearly erased the snowpack in the town of Jackson, though heavy snow thereafter rebuilt the snowpack in town.

Jackson received a total of 3.98 inches of precipitation (rain and liquid equivalent snow) in February which is a substantial amount for town.

March

This was another active month with frequent storms and heavy snowfall. Rendezvous Bowl received 82 inches of snowfall and the town of Jackson received 20.4 inches of snowfall, both of which are above average.

Temperatures were also warmer than average in March and snowpack quickly disappeared around town during the last week of the month as temperatures reached the 50s and 60s.

April

So far, April has been much drier than normal and slightly warmer than normal and snowpack is melting more quickly than usual as a result.

On April 1st, snowpack in the Tetons was about 110% of average. As of April 23rd, snowpack is right around average as we have seen a dip since peaking in early April.

Snowfall Data

The town of Jackson has received 91.5 inches of snow so far this season, compared to an average of 94.8 inches.

Historically, Jackson can still receive accumulating snow into early/mid May (last year it snowed 6 inches on May 3rd), so we could still add to this total. However, Jackson has not received more than a trace of snow so far in April, and the outlook for late April and early May is not conducive to valley snowfall.

Rendezvous Bowl received a total of 445 inches of snowfall through Jackson Hole Mountain Resort’s closing day on April 13, which is slightly above its 30-year average of 434 inches.

Here is the monthly breakdown (which also includes April snowfall beyond closing day):

Here is a graph that shows how this year’s snowfall at the Rendezvous Bowl stacks up over the past 15 years. 2017 and 2023 stand out as the two biggest winters in recent memory.

Grand Targhee received a total of 444 inches of snowfall at its Chief Joseph Bowl Plot through its closing day on April 20. This was very close to its 15-year average of 446 inches (Grand Targhee’s period of snowfall records is shorter compared to Jackson Hole Mountain Resort).

Town of Jackson Temperature, Precipitation, and Snowfall

Temperatures were above average overall this winter, with many storms in February and March featuring mild temperatures, heavier and wetter snow than usual, and occasional valley rain.

January stands out as the lone month with very cold temperatures, while December and February were much warmer than average.

Jackson has received a total of 10.56 inches of precipitation since October 1st, which is slightly above average for the water year so far (the water year begins on October 1st). For the region as a whole, precipitation is near average since October 1st.

Late April to Early May Weather Outlook

While we had a strong second half of the season in terms of snowfall, April has featured a quick transition to spring with drier conditions and above-average temperatures.

During the final 7 days of April, we are heading into a more unsettled pattern with several disturbances expected to bring near-daily chances of rain showers to the lower elevations and snow showers to the higher elevations from Wednesday to Monday. There is also a chance of afternoon thunderstorms in this pattern.

On Sunday and Monday, a stronger storm system will move into the Central Rockies with more widespread precipitation possible.

Snow levels (the rain/snow line) will generally range from 8,000 to 9,000 feet from Wednesday to Saturday. On Sunday-Monday, snow levels are currently projected to drop to 7,000 to 8,000 feet.

Here is a 7-day precipitation projection from the European Ensemble Model, which represents the average of 50 simulations of this model: