Eight out of the top ten snowiest winters at the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort occurred in the last 15 years. Jim Woodmencey, Mountain Weathermeteorologist, said this aligns with a trend of cooler weather in the valley in the last decade.
"On an annual basis our snowfall, it's been above average the last five years running, which is great for here because we've done a lot better than other places throughout the West certainly."
Looking at weather data for the past 100 years, Woodmencey said the weather usually stays on a 30 to 40-year cycle of warmer and cooler weather. But there is one thing that has stood out to him: much warmer spring weather.
"So the valley will melt out maybe earlier than it has in years past and one of the things about [Grand] Targhee [Resort] is their base elevation is around 8,000 feet. So they're almost immune to that," he said.
Woodmencey says elevation plays a huge part when the snow melts. While the Teton Valley has seen colder and snowier winters, other states in our region like Utah are seeing temperatures increasing.