How much snow did Lost Trail get?
NOAA's snowfall estimate for Lost Trail, Idaho: the last 24 hours, the last 72 hours and the season so far, next to the National Weather Service forecast. Not the resort's own snow report.
Estimated snowfall, base area — lowest mapped lift station, 6,430 ft (1,960 m)
Last 24 hours
0 in
24 h ending 6 am Sat MT
NOAA may still revise this.
Last 72 hours
0 in
72 h ending 6 am Sat MT
NOAA may still revise this.
This season
16 in
Since Wed, Sep 30 · through 6 am Sat MT
NOAA may still revise this.
A gridded estimate for one ~4 km cell, not a measurement at your door. Updated 39 min ago. Snowfall estimate: NOAA/NWS National Operational Hydrologic Remote Sensing Center (NOHRSC).
Mountain accuracy. Mountain estimates often run low in big storms: on days with 6 in or more, this estimate came to about 80–85% of what high-elevation observers measured (western US, winters 2024–26). How we checked.
Recent snow days at Lost Trail
- 24 h ending Wed, Oct 28, 6 am MT0.7 in
- 24 h ending Tue, Oct 27, 6 am MT0.9 in
- 24 h ending Sat, Oct 24, 6 am MT3.3 in
Lost Trail at a glance
- State
- Idaho
- Lowest mapped lift station
- 6,430 ft (1,960 m)
- Highest mapped lift station
- 8,192 ft (2,497 m)
- Vertical between them
- 1,762 ft (537 m)
- Mapped lifts
- 8
- Mapped downhill runs
- 56
Official sources
- Lost Trail — the resort's own snow report, lifts and conditions
- West Central Montana Avalanche Center — avalanche forecast for the Bitterroot zone, before you go beyond the ropes
- Idaho road conditions — closures, chain rules and travel times from the state
Resort names, lifts and elevations © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), via OpenSkiMap, with Skimap.org, Who's On First and Mapterhorn. Mapped data can be incomplete. Resort list (ODbL).
Want snow totals and storm alerts for Lost Trail on your phone? The SnowDex iPhone app is in the works.
Snow at Lost Trail: common questions
Is this Lost Trail's own snow report?
No. It is NOAA's gridded snowfall estimate for one ~4 km cell at the resort's lowest mapped lift station. Resorts measure at their own stakes, often near the top, and report on their own schedule — the numbers can differ a lot. For terrain, lifts and conditions, check the resort itself (losttrail.com).
Why is mountain snow so hard to estimate?
Snow changes fast with elevation and wind: a summit can get twice what the base gets, and a ~4 km grid cell averages over very different slopes. Weather observers are also scarce on mountains, so the estimate leans more on radar and models there.
Is this a forecast or what actually fell?
Both, kept apart. The totals are NOAA's estimate of snow that already fell, for fixed windows ending at 12:00 or 00:00 UTC. The table below them is the National Weather Service forecast for the next 72 hours.
Where these numbers come from
- Snow that fell: NOAA National Snowfall Analysis
- Published by NOAA’s National Operational Hydrologic Remote Sensing Center (NOHRSC) on a ~4 km grid of the contiguous US. It blends radar-based precipitation estimates, a snow-to-liquid ratio and reports from volunteer and cooperative observers. 24-hour totals end at 12:00 and 00:00 UTC and appear about two hours later; 72-hour and season totals are built from the daily 12:00 UTC analysis. NOAA re-runs each analysis for about five days as late reports arrive, so a total can change.
- Snow that’s coming: National Weather Service
- The NWS gridpoint forecast for the spot: snowfall, ice, temperature, chance of precipitation and wind in 6-hour steps for the next 72 hours.
- What it cannot tell you
- A grid estimate is not a ruler in your yard. Snow drifts, settles and melts; totals can change a lot within a few miles; and narrow lake-effect bands can fall between grid cells. Treat these numbers as a good estimate for your area, not a measurement at your door.