A winter to remember is wrapping up in Jackson Hole, and some eye-popping numbers verify what many in western Wyoming already know – that the winter of 2022-23 was a total snow job.
It was at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, which set an all-time snow total record with 595 inches recorded in Rendezvous Bowl. That’s nearly 50 feet of snow, enough to completely bury the famed HOLLYWOOD sign in Los Angeles or twice the height of the Great Wall of China.
Never before has the resort had it piled higher in its 57-year history.
March helped the resort push past more than a few records. It came in like a lion and went out with a lambasting of 126 inches of snowfall at JHMR’s Raymer plot last month alone, and 41 total inches at the base of the mountain, 205% above the historical average.
And talk about overstaying a welcome. JHMR’s end-of-the-season Rendezvous Fest — a free concert celebration on April 1 — was marred by a spring blizzard with 40 mph winds prompting Elle King to say, “Y’all are crazy,” several times during her set.
It was that way everywhere.
Long, Cold Season
What will be remembered most in Teton County – and surrounding Lincoln, Sublette and Sweetwater counties – is the length of the season. Winter-like weather began in late October and never let up until this week.
It was a winter marked by relentless snowfall, below-average temperatures and precious few sunny bluebird days.
All that adds up to statistics that rival any of the previous legendary seasons like when the region was hammered in 1996-97 and even the historical winter of 1948-49.
The snow wasn’t high just at JHMR. Snow King reported 225 total inches of snowfall this season. The resort averages about 150 a year. Grand Targhee Ski Resort in Alta averages 377 inches seasonally. It’s already at 578 and counting.
Frigid Firsts
But the biggest takeaway with Jackson’s snow this season is the white stuff never melted.
Daily high and low temps across Teton County were far below average every month from November through March. November was the coldest on record for Jackson, beating a mark set in 1938 by a full 2 degrees.
Here’s another chilling stat: From the beginning of November through the end of March, Jackson residents woke up to temps 0 degrees Fahrenheit or colder 43% of that time (65 days).
And Jackson did not shiver alone. Riverton, Lander, Rock Springs, Cody – the list goes on – all experienced far colder winters than normal.
Even Big Piney, affectionately known as the “Ice Box of the Nation,” was 9 degrees colder this winter on average.
Shovelers Cry ‘Uncle’
Plenty of winters have come and gone in Jackson with nonstop powder heaped up at the ski resorts and on snow-capped summits. But this winter was a snowplow operator’s nightmare.
Beginning in late October 2022 through the end of March 2023, a total of 105 inches fell in downtown Jackson. That’s a backbreaking 9 feet of snow most residents had to remove from their driveways this winter.
Every month this past winter in Jackson featured above-average snowfall culminating in more snow still on the ground as of last week (2 feet deep) than ever recorded this late in the season.
All of western and central Wyoming has experienced similar monster snowfall this winter.
Afton, county seat of Lincoln County, set a new record with 177 total inches, smashing the 142-inch mark set in 1981-82.
As of April 10, snowpack levels (measured by snow water equivalent, or SWE) show most every region far above historical median. Positive news on the water supply forecast front but troublesome in the coming days as localized spring flooding is expected in many regions of western Wyoming.
Flooding: Yes, Out Of Drought: Not Yet
It all adds up to good news for drought-stricken areas across the state, and bad news if all this snow melts too quickly.
Wyoming is the fifth driest state in the U.S. Since 1999, much of state has been mired in moderate to severe drought conditions.
One above-average winter is not likely to change that, experts say, although the high SWE snowpack measured in some typically arid regions across the state will have positive impacts down the road.
Upper Bear River Basin (166%), Upper and Lower Green River basins (117%, 149%), Salt/Snake River Basin (118%) and Wind River Basin (120%) will all benefit from above-average snowpacks from this winter, said National Weather Service meteorologist Trevor LaVoie.
Localized spring flooding is already happening in low-lying, flood-prone places in the Jackson Hole area. Flooding also is anticipated in widespread areas of western Wyoming from Yellowstone National Park to Flaming Gorge.
But forecasters like Arin Peters, hydrologist for the NWS, are stopping short of calling for major flood damage the likes of which ravaged Yellowstone in June 2022.
Unprecedented amounts of rainfall last spring caused substantial flooding, rockslides and mudslides within Yellowstone National Park. Historic water levels caused severe damage to roads, water and wastewater systems, power lines and other critical park infrastructure.
The disaster was called a 500-year flood event. It closed large portions of northern Yellowstone. The park is still recovering from that catastrophic flood.
Forecast Models Nailed It
Can’t say we weren’t warned. Nearly every long-range forecast model called for a colder, snowier 2022-23 winter in Wyoming.
Cowboy State Daily meteorologist Don Day summed it up succinctly in his Weather Winter Outlook, which he dropped in August 2022.
“More snow, more cold,” Day said before fleshing things out in his 16-minute YouTube special.
Day promised a weakening La Niña, which kept the Cowboy State in a drier winter weather pattern for the past two winters, would result in colder than average temperatures December through March.
Bingo!
The National Weather Service 2022-23 Winter Weather Outlook got it mostly right with its “colder than normal, wetter than normal” summary, although it gave a 76% chance of La Niña hanging on much later than it seems it did.
Even Farmers’ Almanac and Lander Lil got it right when it came to predicting Wyoming’s long, chilly, snowy winter.
About the photos:
Top: Skiers have enjoyed epic snow conditions at ski resorts all around Wyoming, including nearly 600 inches at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort. (Jackson Hole Mountain Resort via Facebook)
Below: Snow piled up over the winter around Jackson Hole, Wyoming, as storms would dump on top of each other and cold temperatures kept melting at a minimum. (Jake Nichols, Cowboy State Daily)
