Jackson Hole, Grand Targhee Placed On Hold Due to Lightning

A storm moving through the Tetons dropped 19" of snow on Grand Targhee resort and 14" of snow at Jackson Hole on Tuesday, February 24, with 1-2" per hour falling throughout the day. Unfortunately, Wednesday might not shape up to be as epic a Teton powder day as metrics like those would suggest.

Wednesday morning as of 9:30am MST, both Grand Targhee and Jackson Hole's lifts were placed on hold due to lightning in the area.

At Jackson Hole, as of 10:15am MST, Après Vous Quad, Sweetwater Gondola, Teewinot Quad, Moose Creek Quad, and Union Pass Quad all cited lightning holds on the Jackson Hole App. Teton, Thunder, Sublette, Marmot, Casper, Bridger Gondola, and the Tram were all held for avalanche mitigation. All of Targhee's lifts cited lightning holds.

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The storm came in particularly warm and wet, with 1.3 to 2.8" of water equivalent and rain falling up to 7,000ft. Strong winds out of the southwest and west contributed to significant wind loading and wind slabs of 2-3 feet in depth above 8,000ft. Numerous avalanches were reported to the Bridger Teton Avalanche Center on Tuesday, February 23 as the day started out with particularly touchy conditions. BTAC has rated the avalanche danger as "considerable" below 7,500 ft, and "high" above 7,500 feet for Wednesday, February 25.

The Wyoming Department of Transportation closed Teton Pass for avalanche mitigation work at 2:00am on February 25. The road reopened briefly around 4am but closed again at 7:53am. The pass reopened in both directions at 9:55am MST.

Further precipitation on Wednesday could come in as rain, particularly at lower elevations. Jackson Hole's base was hovering around 40 degrees on Wednesday morning with wind gusts at the top of the Tram clocked at up to 60mph, 40mph in the valley, and 50+ mph at the top of Targhee. Strong winds and lightning could continue to impact lift operations at both resorts today.