Travel

How Yellowstone Prepares For Spring Using A Train Of Snowplows

At a Glance

Every March several roads at Yellowstone National Park close to visitors for snow plowing.
The park roads should reopen by April 21, weather permitting.

Sign up for the Morning Brief email newsletter to get weekday updates from The Weather Channel and our meteorologists.

It's spring cleaning season at Yellowstone National Park.

Every March, several roads at the park close to visitors and open to bulldozers, wedge graders and industrial-strength snow blowers. The fleet set out to clear this year's snowpack on March 5, and they won't be done until at least April 21, depending on the weather. By 9 p.m. local time on March 15, most park roads will be closed at the South, West and East entrances of the park.

(PHOTOS: Nor'easter Dumps Feet Of Snow On Northeast)

Yellowstone National Park officials say snow can reach up to 10 feet across the winter season. This season, the snowpack ranges from 100% to 130% of average for this time of year.

"A normal plow will not go through the snowpack that's there," Randy Baum, facility manager over roads and fleet at Yellowstone said in a 2019 National Park Service video.

"Over the years we evolved to where we'll pull a huge wedge grader with a couple bulldozers just to break up the snowpack," he said.

It's not without complications. Weather and the amount of snow play a big role in the day-to-day. Baum said mechanics have to travel with the snow-clearing crew so they can fix any equipment issues right there on the side of the road.

The whole process can take up to three weeks to complete.

So, if you're visiting Yellowstone National Park in March, you may be limited on where you can enter the park.

If the weather is good, the park's North Entrance in Gardiner, Montana, is open year-round. It leads through Mammoth Hot Springs and Tower Junction to Cooke City, Montana.

The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.