Image: Jackson Hole Ski Resort webcam
Popular vacation destination, Jackson Hole, Wyoming was not spared Winter Storm Noor’s wrath in early March. The storm dumped a record amount of snow on the area.
“A massive storm produced 30 inches of snow in 24 hours at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort’s upper mountain plot, which was the deepest in-season snow report on record,” reported Buckrail Meteorologist Alan Smith. “The town of Jackson received 17 inches of snow in 24 hours, which was tied for the second most on record, though there are many years with missing data.”
The storm will go down in the record books as one of the most severe winter storms, based on snowfall amount, rates, and wind speeds, in history to hit the Teton mountains, Buckrail said.
The 30 inches of snow recorded in 24 hours at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort’s Rendezvous Bowl Plot tied the location’s previous record from November 14, 1988. The 17 inches official snow total in the town of Jackson, came in second to only the all-time 24-hour record of 19 inches set in December 1931.
“The combination of heavy snowfall in a short period of time along with strong winds wreaked havoc on ski resort operations for Saturday (March 2),” reported Smith. “Snow plows were unable to keep up with the heavy snowfall rates on Ski Hill Road on Friday night between Driggs and Grand Targhee, and the road remained closed on Saturday as a result, preventing employees and visitors from making it up to Targhee. The resort did not open as a result.
The Jackson Hole Mountain Resort ultimately also concluded it was unsafe to open all but its lowest, beginner slopes, after it determined significant avalanche danger existed.
With the new snowfall, the Upper Snake River Basin, in terms of snowpack water equivalent, is above 103 percent of average for the date.