Friday brings one last modest shot of snow to the Tetons and southwest Montana before the pattern flips quickly into a warm, mostly dry spring stretch. The best refresh among open areas comes early Friday at Grand Targhee and Big Sky, with Jackson Hole adding a smaller topper, then the weekend through Monday trends dry with firm mornings and softer afternoon snow as temperatures climb. Confidence is highest from Friday morning through Monday night. After that, most guidance still breaks the ridge down Tuesday with a windier, cooler turn and a chance for a broader Wednesday-Thursday mountain refresh, but snowfall amounts and snow levels spread out enough that the later outlook stays lower confidence.
The departing storm hangs on through Friday afternoon, with the steadiest snow focused on Grand Targhee, Big Sky, Jackson Hole, and closed Bridger Bowl before tapering fast by evening. Totals during the most reliable part of the forecast are generally 5-7 inches at Grand Targhee, 5-6 inches at Big Sky, and about 3 inches at Jackson Hole, while most Idaho hills see little more than a trace. The models are tightly clustered on the timing of this exit, and they also agree snow levels stay low enough for all snow at the upper mountains, mostly around 3,000-6,000 feet. Snow quality should be best in the Tetons and southwest Montana, where SLRs mostly run 11-17 for moderate to fairly light snow, while any leftovers farther northwest look denser with SLRs closer to 6-12.
Dry weather takes over Friday night through Monday night as a ridge builds, and model agreement is strong on a classic spring pattern with chilly overnight refreezes followed by warmer afternoons. Resort temperatures generally bottom out in the upper teens to low 30s °F, then rise into the 40s and low 50s °F by Sunday and Monday, so expect firmer starts and softer surfaces later in the day rather than fresh snow. Winds stay manageable most of the weekend, then pick up on Tuesday as the ridge starts breaking down. Timing agreement is fairly good on that windier turn, but the strength still varies, with the most exposed northwest Idaho and northern Montana terrain capable of gusts over 40 mph and some ridges potentially pushing much higher, while snowfall Tuesday itself looks limited to spotty, mostly nuisance mountain showers.
From Tuesday night through Thursday, the guidance converges on cooler air returning but diverges on how much moisture arrives with it, so this looks more like a potential refresh than a locked-in storm cycle. The general signal favors the Tetons and southwest Montana first, with lighter and more hit-or-miss snow farther west in Idaho, and most solutions ease the worst wind after Tuesday before settling into a breezy Wednesday and Thursday. A conservative read for the higher open terrain is roughly 4-10 inches during Wednesday and Thursday where the colder, wetter solutions line up, but some runs stay lighter and keep lower mountain conditions mixed or dense as snow levels wobble from roughly 6,000-8,000 feet early down to much lower elevations later. That would make early snow fairly heavy, with SLRs often 3-10, before quality improves if colder air digs in. Beyond Thursday, the broader signal stays a bit more unsettled than the weekend pattern, especially toward Wyoming and southwest Montana, but confidence drops further on timing and totals.
Resort Forecast Totals (Fri Apr 03 – Fri Apr 03)
- Grand Targhee – 5-7 in
- Big Sky – 5-6 in
- Bridger Bowl – 4-5 in
- Jackson Hole – 3 in
- Whitefish Mountain – 0-1 in
- Schweitzer – 0 in
- Sun Valley – 0 in
- Brundage – 0 in
- Tamarack – 0 in
- Bogus Basin – 0 in