A foot of June snow in the Rockies while East swelters

As residents of the Northeast and Midwest prepare for an extreme heat wave, those who live in parts of the Rocky Mountains and Pacific Northwest are experiencing snow and unusually cold weather in the lead-up to Thursday, the first day of summer.

Glacier Park in Montana had a snowy scene at sunset on June 18.

Webcam by the Glacier National Park Conservancy.

Webcam by the <a href="https://www.nps.gov/glac/learn/photosmultimedia/webcams.htm">Glacier National Park Conservancy</a>.

At Montana State on June 17, a summer football camp practiced in the snow in Bozeman, Montana while in Jackson, Wyoming, a local resident was amazed.

Nearly one million residents of the West were under a winter weather advisory or a frost advisory Monday morning. Snow was on the ground at ski resorts and covered mountain passes in Idaho and Montana.

Department of Transportation webcams show snow on the ground at Georgetown Lake and Rogers Pass, Montana, and Lost Trail Pass in Idaho. (DOT)

Department of Transportation webcams show snow on the ground at Georgetown Lake and Rogers Pass, Montana, and Lost Trail Pass in Idaho. (DOT)

Great Falls, Montana, should have an afternoon high temperature of 73 degrees this time of year, but the AccuWeather forecast for Monday is a high temperature of only 45 degrees.

Several inches of snow fell Sunday into Monday morning in six states and provinces - British Columbia, Alberta, Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana.

U.S. cold and heat advisories on the morning of June 17, 2024.

While snow does fall at high elevations in early June, late-June snowfalls are less common. Last year, the last significant snowfall in the Rockies took place on June 24-25.

Official reports indicated 14 inches of snow at Clover Meadows, Montana as of the morning of June 18.

24-hour snowfall prior to 6 a.m. MDT June 18, 2024.

24-hour snowfall prior to 6 a.m. MDT June 18, 2024.

AccuWeather forecasters say temperatures will moderate this week. By this weekend, temperatures in some towns in the Rockies will be 40 degrees higher than Monday.