Is this early winter weather unusual?

It is only September, but the temperatures make it feel like it could be late October/November. In some areas we’ve already seen winter weather advisories.

The steep drop in temperatures over the past few days and snow being seen in places like Jackson, WY and in the central mountains has people curious.

“During the month of September we can usually get some snow storms up in the high country — up in the mountains. So, to get this much this early, is a little unusual. But what’s more unusual is usually some of the fall precipitation that comes in first during the month of September falls as rain rather than snow. But this year, the colder temperatures are making the moisture fall as snow,” said Ron Abramovich, the water supply specialist with USDA NRCS out of Boise.

Snow is falling instead of rain, and because of that, areas are already seeing up to a foot of snow in places above 8,000 feet.

For the current water year, experts say some spots in the Gem State pushed record highs for its precipitation levels. This all plays a part into how much snow we could see in these next few months.

“If you think about what happened last year in October, we got off to a really good start because October rains came in and we were looking a record-high precipitation. This yea, we may be starting a little earlier — more in September,” Abramovich said.

Last year, Idaho and Wyoming had extreme winter weather — and that possibility isn’t ruled out for happening again this year.

“Last year, was an unusual year that we had cold temperatures. And then by February, we started getting a lot more snow in the high country and had some record high-levels,” Abramovich said.

Abramovich says we are in a La Nina year, which means storms will be passing through the Pacific Northwest. The snow pack may also be above average with these cooler than normal temperatures.