The Northern Rockies snow forecast keeps southwest Montana at the center of the ongoing storm, with the strongest remaining snowfall Sunday evening before a sharp taper Monday. Big Sky and Bridger Bowl each have another 6-7 in expected, while Idaho and the Tetons receive much smaller additions at resort elevations. All ten resorts remain closed for lift-served skiing, making this an early snowpack-building event ahead of winter operations. Current operations reports, mountain hours, and conditions updates confirm the preseason setting.
Snow continues across southwest Montana Sunday afternoon and evening, with the most substantial accumulation winding down early Monday. Guidance strongly supports that timing and the Montana focus, although snowfall amounts still vary considerably. Big Sky now narrowly leads the remaining accumulation forecast, replacing Bridger Bowl as the favored mountain in Friday’s update. The totals here cover additional snowfall from Sunday afternoon through Tuesday morning, excluding snow that has already fallen. At Big Sky and Bridger Bowl, temperatures fall from the upper 20s into the lower and middle 20s overnight, while snow levels drop to roughly 3,000 to 4,000 feet during the main accumulation. Cooling makes the snow less dense overnight, favoring useful base building with moderate-density snow rather than consistently light powder. Monday brings mostly light residual showers, with a modest afternoon reload possible around Big Sky.
Idaho and western Wyoming remain much less favorable for meaningful accumulation at resort elevations through Tuesday morning. West-central Idaho snow levels generally settle near 5,000 to 7,000 feet during showers Sunday night and Monday, leaving dense coatings mainly on higher terrain. Sun Valley has roughly an inch expected on its higher slopes as precipitation reaches the area Monday and lingers into early Tuesday, with snow levels mostly near 6,500 to 7,500 feet. Farther north, moisture is scarce around Schweitzer and Whitefish Mountain despite colder air; northeast gusts near 40 mph and 30 mph, respectively, ease overnight into Monday. Western Wyoming remains unsettled, but relatively high snow levels and weak resort-elevation snowfall signals keep expectations minimal around Jackson Hole and Grand Targhee. A possible follow-up Tuesday night into Wednesday has mixed support, with the better mountain-snow potential farther south and over the highest Wyoming terrain.
A warmer, mostly dry pattern takes over from Wednesday into next weekend, limiting preservation of this early snow. Agreement is strong on rebuilding high pressure over Idaho and Montana, while lingering showers remain more uncertain in Wyoming. Cold early-week nights help retain the Montana accumulation initially, but mountain temperatures climb above freezing during the day, reaching the 40s and 50s at many forecast elevations later in the week. Expect settling and melting, particularly on lower and sunnier slopes. A weak disturbance could brush the northern edge of the region next weekend, but the more plausible opportunity for renewed mountain precipitation is around Tuesday, October 20, and Wednesday, October 21. Substantial spread in moisture, cooling, and placement keeps that signal tentative, while the broader late-October pattern still favors warmer-than-normal conditions.
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Northern Rockies (MT/WY/ID) Snow Forecast Resort Totals (Sun Oct 11 – Tue Oct 13)
- Big Sky – 6-7 in
- Bridger Bowl – 6-7 in
- Sun Valley – 1 in
- Brundage – 1 in
- Tamarack – 0 in
- Bogus Basin – 0 in
- Whitefish Mountain – 0 in
- Grand Targhee – 0 in
- Schweitzer – 0 in
- Jackson Hole – 0 in