Three Feet of Snow!

The recently departed storm that provided the second period of beneficial rainfall for Star Valley in the month of May, as expected put down a little snow in the higher mountains.  It appears that the snow level remained generally above about 8000 feet.  Willow Creek Snotel had several inches of wet snow.  However it was a different story in the Big Horn Mountains.  

Star Valley Ranch recorded 3.32 inches of rain for the month of May, while the station 5 miles southsoutheast of Smoot had 2.70 inches.

Riverton Forecast Office put together a summary of the Snow storm in the Big Horns.

3 Feet of Snow at the End of May?

The National Weather Service Building a Weather-Ready Nation

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Summary | Snowfall Totals | Reporting Snowfall | Safety

An excruciatingly slow moving upper level low pressure system tracked across northern Wyoming and into the northern plains over the past five days. It was also accompanied by an abundance of moisture and some very cold temperatures aloft. This system will continue to wrap moisture around the low and into the region through Saturday.

Click Image to Enlarge The above image shows the track of the storm system (yellow arrow) over the past few days. The current position of the upper level low center is located over the Dakotas as of Friday morning, however it will continue to wrap around moisture and bring precipitation (spotty image) in the cold air (blue shades) to the Bighorns through Saturday. Snow and rain will finally taper off on Saturday afternoon and evening.

Click Image to Enlarge The above image shows the amount of liquid precipitation that fell over central and northern Wyoming over the past 7 days. (Data is missing for Southwest Wyoming)

Several inches to several FEET of snow fell across the northern mountains of Wyoming, while mainly rain fell below 8500 feet. So far, the big winner in the snow department is the Wyoming High Country Lodge, where three feet of snow has fallen in the past couple of days!

Click on Image to Enlarge Our fantastic weather spotter at the Wyoming High Country Lodge sent us these photos. The picture on the left was taken just a few days ago, while the picture on the right was taken at about 10:00am on Friday morning! There have been reports of damage caused by several trees that collapsed under the weight of the new snow. What a difference a couple of days make!

More Photos of the WY High Country Lodge on May 31st

Click Image to Enlarge Snowmobiling at the end of May, anyone? A big "thank you!" to the Wyoming High Country Lodge for sending these photos to us and for letting us use them.	Click Image to Enlarge One of the many fallen trees around the lodge. A big "thank you!" to the Wyoming High Country Lodge for sending these photos to us and for letting us use them.

 

Reported Snowfall Totals 

County	Station Name	Snowfall
Big Horn	Wyoming High Country Lodge	36
	Bald Mountain Snotel	24
	Shell Creek Snotel	8
	Bone Springs Divide Snotel	4
County	Station Name	Snowfall
Washakie	Powder River Pass Snotel	8
County	Station Name	Snowfall
Johnson	Cloud Peak Reservoir Snotel	4
	Bear Trap Meadow Snotel	4
	Little Goose Snotel	1