Weather
The Northern Rockies stay mild into Saturday, then a Sunday night–Monday front delivers the first meaningful refresh, with central Idaho and the Tetons favored for the deepest totals. Snow levels start high as the pattern flips, so lower elevations see denser snow early before colder air settles in and improves quality by Monday night. A lighter, colder midweek follow-up keeps turns fresh, and the broader mid-February signal stays active with more chances to add on later in the week.
Warm air and high snow levels dominate through Saturday (02/07), with just a light pulse for interior BC and the Canadian Rockies, generally 1″–2″ at the resorts. Snow levels hover in the 4,000 to 5,500 foot range for these early flakes, so expect the lower mountain to lean wet while the upper mountain stays snow. Snow-to-liquid ratios mostly sit in the 7–13:1 range, which points to dense snow quality rather than blower. Winds stay manageable for most areas during this first wave, though exposed ridges can still gust into the 20 to 30 mph range at times.
Sunday night (02/08) through Monday (02/09) is the main event, and the snowier pockets of central Idaho and the Tetons can stack 5″–13″ by Monday night. Snow levels start high, commonly around 5,500 to 7,000 feet early in the storm, so snow comes in heavier at lower elevations with early snow-to-liquid ratios frequently in the 6–10:1 range. Colder air arrives as the front pushes through, and by Monday night snow levels drop closer to 3,000 to 4,000 feet in many mountain zones while ratios climb into the 11–16:1 range, so quality improves and the snow skis better. Expect some bite to the wind along ridgelines during the frontal push, with gusty periods that can affect exposed lifts. Confidence is high on the pattern change and widespread snow, but the placement of the bullseye still varies, with the GDPS and the ICON generally more aggressive in parts of Idaho and southwest Montana while the ECMWF is more conservative in some of the same areas and the GFS swings around by sub-region, with the AIFS often landing nearer the middle.
Colder air settles in for Tuesday night (02/10) into Wednesday (02/11), with a lighter follow-up adding another 1″–3″ in the Tetons and a more wintry feel across the rest of the region. By Tuesday morning, snow levels drop to valley floors in parts of western Montana and central Idaho, though mild afternoons in the valleys (near 40°F at times) can compact or melt the lowest elevation snow between showers. Midweek snow quality looks better than the initial front, with ratios commonly in the 14–16:1 range where the steadier bands set up. After that, the pattern stays unsettled into late week and the weekend (02/12–02/15), and the better odds for additional light accumulations shift toward interior BC and the Canadian Rockies with generally lower snow levels and higher ratios, while the U.S. side shows more spread on whether the next pulses stay minor or turn into a more organized reload. Longer-range guidance supports an active mid-February stretch with more mountain snow chances even as exact timing and totals get fuzzier.
Resort Forecast Totals (02/07–02/11)
- Brundage – 9″–13″
- Grand Targhee – 7″–11″
- Schweitzer – 5″–8″
- Whitefish Mountain – 5″–8″
- Jackson Hole – 4″–6″
- Big Sky – 3″–5″
- Bridger Bowl – 3″–5″
- Tamarack – 3″–4″
- RED Mountain – 2″–4″
- Big White – 2″
- Revelstoke – 1″–2″
- Bogus Basin – 1″–2″
- Banff Sunshine – 1″
- Sun Valley – 1″
- Lake Louise – 0″
