Weather
This forecast was created at 10 a.m. PST on Thursday, October 23, 2025.
A Pacific system arrives Friday night and peaks Saturday, then a colder, showery tail lingers into Monday and Tuesday, so expect a warm-and-windy start that turns colder with improving snow quality, with the biggest totals in west-central Idaho and the Tetons. All listed resorts are still closed, so think upper-mountain base building rather than immediate turns. Snow levels start high on Saturday, then fall quickly Saturday night through Sunday, and winds will be a factor on exposed ridges before easing early next week: late next week, trends milder, with the more active track favoring the northern tier.
Friday night through Saturday brings the initial surge, warm and windy, with snow focused on higher elevations. Precip spreads in Friday night and becomes widespread Saturday, with snow levels mainly above 6,000 to 8,500 feet, highest in southern and central Idaho, so lower bases see rain or a wet mix. At the same time, upper elevations turn over to snow. Early snow will be denser in west-central and northern Idaho and southern British Columbia, where snow-to-liquid ratios run mostly in the 5–10 range during the first push, improving later Saturday night. Ridgetop winds increase ahead of and with the front, with common gusts 30 to 45 mph and pockets near 50 mph in the Idaho Panhandle and Boise Mountains, and 30 to 40 mph across the Tetons and southwest Montana. Resorts remain closed, but this phase lays down the first meaningful upper-mountain base on west- and south-facing terrain.
Saturday night through Sunday, temperatures drop, snow levels fall, and quality improves while winds stay brisk. Colder air sweeps in Saturday night, dropping snow levels to roughly 4,000 feet in the northern tier and around 5,000 feet farther south by Sunday. A couple of additional waves keep precipitation going, and snow-to-liquid ratios generally rise into the 11–14 range, so the snow becomes lighter and less dense by Sunday. The most productive zones in this window are west-central Idaho (Brundage, Tamarack, Bogus Basin), the Idaho Panhandle into southern British Columbia (Schweitzer, RED, Big White), and the Tetons, with southwest Montana and the interior Canadian Rockies getting more modest refreshes. Ridge gusts remain 30 to 45 mph on exposed terrain through Sunday, which would be impactful for lift operations later in the season, then begin to ease Sunday night.
Monday into Tuesday features a colder, showery tail with lighter, fluffier additions that favor windward high terrain. The coldest air arrives by Monday, with snow levels near 3,000 to 3,500 feet across the northern ranges and generally 4,500 to 6,500 feet farther south. Showers continue, most frequent on west and northwest aspects and along the Divide, with the Tetons and west-central Idaho crest favored for the final little boosts. Ratios climb into the 14–17 range for the Tetons and southwest Montana by Monday–Tuesday, so later-period snow quality is notably better even as amounts taper. Summit temperatures settle in the 20s, and winds ease to more manageable levels by Monday afternoon.
Medium to long-range points to a brief mid-week lull and warming, then renewed northern-tier chances. As we move into the Oct 28–Nov 1 window, the pattern supports near to above-normal precipitation across Idaho and western Montana, with temperatures near normal in Idaho and above normal from eastern Montana into Wyoming. In the Oct 30–Nov 5 period, odds favor milder-than-normal temperatures region-wide, with the more active Pacific track tilted toward the Pacific Northwest and northern Idaho–western Montana, while Wyoming trends drier, with less storm energy. Expect periodic light mountain showers at times mid- to late-week north of the Snake, and a generally milder feel compared to the early-week trough.
Resort Forecast Totals
- Brundage – 13″–21″ Sat (10/25) – Tue (10/28)
- Grand Targhee – 10″–17″ Sat night (10/25) – Tue (10/28)
- Jackson Hole – 8″–13″ Sat night (10/25) – Tue (10/28)
- Tamarack – 7″–12″ Sat night (10/25) – Tue (10/28)
- Big White – 8″–12″ Fri night (10/24) – Tue (10/28)
- Bogus Basin – 6″–11″ Sat night (10/25) – Tue (10/28)
- Schweitzer – 7″–11″ Sat night (10/25) – Tue (10/28)
- RED Mountain – 7″–10″ Sat (10/25) – Tue (10/28)
- Sun Valley – 6″–9″ Sat (10/25) – Tue (10/28)
- Big Sky – 5″–8″ Sat night (10/25) – Tue (10/28)
- Whitefish Mountain – 3″–5″ Sat night (10/25) – Tue (10/28)
- Lake Louise – 4″–5″ Fri night (10/24) – Mon night (10/27)
- Revelstoke – 3″–4″ Sat night (10/25) – Tue (10/28)
- Banff Sunshine – 3″–4″ Fri night (10/24) – Sun night (10/26)
- Bridger Bowl – 2″–3″ Sat night (10/25) – Mon night (10/27)
