A “parade” of snowstorms will dump heavy snow on much of western Wyoming this weekend, creating create windy conditions on major highways with gusts reaching up to 80 mph.
A wave of winter weather is traveling east from the Pacific Northwest and could bring accumulations of up to 4 feet in the Teton Range, said Cowboy State Daily meteorologist Don Day.
“What we have is kind of a parade of Pacific storms,” he said. “They’re little, but they're going to come through now until Monday.”
The National Weather Service (NWS) instituted a storm watch all weekend for western portions of Wyoming.
According to the NWS, the Teton and Gros Ventre mountains can expect between 5 and 10 inches late into Friday night. Heavy snow is expected to then pick up Saturday and continue until Monday morning.
“Travel will be very difficult,” the NWS said in a statement. “The hazardous conditions will impact the morning and evening commutes on Teton Pass for multiple days.”
Waves Of Snow
Travel could be impacted in the Star Valley area as well.
Forecasters are anticipating that up to 10 inches could fall on the southern half of the valley and as much as 14 inches could accumulate through the weekend on the northern half. The storm could impact the towns of Alpine, Thayne, Star Valley Ranch and Afton.
“It will be like a wave of snow, break, wave of snow, break, wave of snow, break,” Day said. “It’ll dump the most in the Wind River Mountains, Tetons and Yellowstone National Park.”
Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone National Park could see as much as 4 inches of snow through the weekend, while 7 inches could fall between Old Faithful and the southern entrance of the national park, the NWS said. The majority of Yellowstone could get up to 3 inches. Traveling through the backcountry will be especially difficult, the Weather Service stressed.
Up to 18 inches of snow is projected for Jackson Hole. The western portion of the Wind River mountains could accumulate as much as 10 inches in the south and up to 2 feet elsewhere. An additional foot could fall on the eastern part of the range, as well as in the Absaroka Mountains.
Pinedale could experience up to 8 inches with as much as 14 inches falling in other parts of the Upper Green River Basin.
Motorists should prepare for the worst
The storms are forecasted to dump most of their moisture on the western mountain ranges, but they will stir up a lot of wind for other parts of the state. Interstates 25 and 80 could see wind gusts of up to 80 mph this weekend, Day said.
The Weather Service advises motorists to be prepared.
“If you must travel, keep an extra flashlight, food and water in your vehicle in case of an emergency,” the NWS reports.
Justin George can be reached at justin@cowboystatedaily.com.
