Winter’s first snowfall… in summer.

Author Note: I wrote this post on my phone. The ‘featured image’ is from last winter because I can’t figure out how to upload images from my phone. Also be aware that formatting might be weird.

I love fall, it’s my favorite time of year. Unfortunately, fall only lasted for about a week where I work in Island Park, Idaho. We got somewhere between two and three inches of snow overnight, freezing up my pressure washer. Driving up, you would have no idea it was September. Approaching Henrys Lake, I had to slow to 35 in a 65 zone.

I’m not the only one who got snow, so let’s take a look at some totals:

Idaho:

• Lem Peak: 4″
• Island Park: 2.5″
• Pine Creek: 1″

Montana:

• Marysville: 24″
• Montana City: 13″
• Lakeview: 10″
• Rogers Pass: 2″
• W of Dillon: 2″
• West Yellowstone: 2″
• Bozeman: 0.5″
• Livingston: 0.5″

The snow also caused road closures in Yellowstone National Park. I was unable to find specific numbers from the state of Wyoming, though.

Next week, another storm system will approach the Northern Rockies. Snow levels look like they will be slightly lower this time around, with generally higher snowfall values expected when compared to what we saw overnight.

Yes, your calendar still says summer. This snow is providing help to firefighters who have been fighting fires for months in parts of Montana and Idaho. In old growth forest, sometimes major fires will continue to burn until the first few snows of the season.

No, I’m not going to make any sort of prediction on whether this means we will have a crazy snowy winter or not. What I will say, however, is that despite being unusual, early snows like this are not outlandish for the Northern Rockies. Higher elevations stand a chance of seeing snow any time of year.

Did you get snow but didn’t see your city on the list? Fire off a comment and if I can figure out how to edit this on my phone, I’ll add your snowfall total to the list!