Yellowstone Net Forums

Hi

We are visiting 2nd week of may but we keep an eye on temps in the park.

It still seems very cold there at the moment, is there still a lot of snow around?

Thanks

Spike, the month of May in the Park, usually, gets a fair amount of moisture. So be sure to bring a good rain jacket and rain pants, a warm hat and gloves, waterproof boots and warm socks. At the moment, there doesn't appear to be much snow on the ground in the Park except along the edges of the roadways but be advised that late spring snowstorms are fairly common in the Yellowstone region and the snow can be extremely wet, making driving slow and hazardous. Just take your time when you're in the Park, drive slowly and be sure to watch for any critters walking on the roadways. The first half of May can also be absolutely glorious. May is considered a transition month. That being the case, you need to be prepared for the worst weather and hopefully, you'll be blessed with relatively warm, 60-degree weather when you're there. Just keep in mind that May weather is totally unpredictable.

The official Yellowstone NP website has a web page that has a number of links to webcams that are set up at different locations in the Park so you can check the current weather conditions "live". Here's the link: https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/photosmu ... ebcams.htm
You may want to bookmark this link and check it frequently. The Park website also has current Park "alerts" on its home page. The alerts give you the latest, up-to-date info on road conditions, road construction, area closures and weather conditions. Keep in mind that many of the service stations and general stores in the Park will not be open until June. So make sure that you find out what service stations and general stores will be open. Above all, ALWAYS keep your gas tank at least half full. You do not want to get stuck anywhere in the Park without enough gas to get help. You also may want to consider keeping a tote box of survival gear and safety items in your vehicle, ie: a first aid kit, a couple of blankets, sleeping bag, a shovel, a bag of kitty litter, tire chains, canned food, water, eating utensils and road flairs. (A big bag of kitty litter will not only add weight to the back end of your vehicle but it also works great to give traction to your car tires if your car gets stuck in snow. Hopefully, you won't need any of these things but if you do get stuck or go off the road, you'll be mighty glad that you had the foresight to bring these things along. Hope you have a wonderful trip! Yellowstone is a magical place in the springtime. Lots of newborns and lots of very hungry critters. So please be careful, drive slowly and please stay on high alert.

Along with the webcams, the National Weather Service has forecasts for multiple locations in both Grand Teton and Yellowstone parks. As you may see on the webcams some days, the weather can be very different in various locations in the park, partly because of the elevation differences.

My favorite site for convenient one-click access to all of them is:

https://www.weather.gov/riw/ynp_gtnp

Just click on the red dots to be taken to the current 7-day forecast for that area.

Many thanks for that link, BDC. I just bookmarked it.

Thank you for the advice and links?

We will be hiring a car for the duration of our stay and have planned to have most of the things you said in the car with us, not planning on going off road as it will not be 4 wheel drive so to limit the risk it will be main roads only.

Thanks again I will check out the links

Last two days have been clear and temps in the high 50s but the rain started this morning and I expect the snow to start later today. The snow on the ground on the west side is about one foot deep and covering all of the ground. out to the Lamar the melt is taking off and the river is rising higher every day.All lakes are frozen over with the exception of those fed by thermals

Thanks Mike for the update.