June snowfall, record cold forecast in the Northern Rockies, including parts of Idaho, Montana and Wyoming this weekend

The extreme cold weather pattern has resulted in mountain snowfall across parts of the Northern Rockies, as well as some record cold temperatures in the first full weekend of summer in parts of Idaho, Montana and Wyoming – including some national parks during the busiest time of the year.

This cold weather moved into the Northwest and northern Rockies over the past weekend and will last through Monday, probably Tuesday.

Winter storm warnings and winter weather advisories are in effect for parts of Montana and Idaho.

How cold will it be?

Overnight lows could drop into the 30s by Monday or Tuesday in some of the coldest spots in the northern Great Basin and northern Rockies. This could lead to record daily lows in some areas of eastern Oregon and Idaho, not to mention summer frost or freezing in other higher elevation cold spots.

On Sunday morning, a record low of 33 degrees was recorded in Burns, Oregon, which was previously recorded in 1947.

Even some larger cities in the Interior Northwest and northern Great Basin will see morning low temperatures drop into the 40s by Monday, including Boise, Reno and parts of Utah’s Salt Lake Valley.

After this week’s intense heat, daytime highs in Seattle, Portland, Spokane and Boise will be in the upper 60s or cooler 70s.

But parts of high country Montana, northwest Wyoming and Idaho may not see an increase in elevation after the 40s or 50s.

(Map: 10-day US forecast high and low)

snow in june

This storm pattern will bring enough cold air to bring snow to parts of the high country such as Idaho, western Montana and northwestern Wyoming.

We expect snow to fall at elevations below 6,000 feet in parts of western Montana and Idaho and up to 8,000 feet in northwest Wyoming.

As you can see in the map below, several inches of accumulation are possible, especially over grassy areas. Some areas may receive more than a foot of snowfall. The ground temperature on sidewalks and roads is very hot due to the recent heat.

What you need to know

It’s a sudden change, not only for those who have been sweating from the recent heat, but also for anyone vacationing in the Northern Rockies, especially those traveling from an area that has been either hot or warmer than usual this time of year.

If you’re visiting Yellowstone, Grand Teton or Glacier national parks this weekend:

• Dress for cold, wet weather, including rain gear, sweatshirt, and long pants. Even in areas too warm for snow, cold, raw rain can occasionally occur.
• If you’re planning on camping or hiking in the backcountry, dress appropriately for winter weather or consider delaying or canceling those plans.
• While some falling snow may melt, some roads on mountain pass summits may become muddy or snow-covered, especially at night or in the early morning, including Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park, its entire length. Opened for the summer season to vehicle traffic earlier this week.
• Check national park websites for any road or trail conditions as forecast.

This is not unusual

For most of us, the idea of ​​snow in June would be strange, to put it mildly.

But in the northern Rockies and northwestern high country, it is common.

We’ve seen June Mountain West snowfall last year, July snowfall in 2023, 2020, 2019, and even 2016.

Snow has fallen in Denver before in June; Flagstaff, Arizona; salt Lake City; and Tahoe City, California.

Jonathan Erdman is Weather.com’s senior meteorologist and has been covering national and international weather since 1996. Extremes and strange weather are his favorite subjects. reach it blue sky, X (formerly Twitter) And Facebook.