Add an additional CSS class that blocks the transition, and then remove it to return to the previous state. This make both CSS and JQuery code short, simple and well understandable.
CSS:
.notransition {
-webkit-transition: none !important;
-moz-transition: none !important;
-o-transition: none !important;
-ms-transition: none !important;
transition: none !important;
}
!important
was added to be sure that this rule will have more "weight", because ID is normally more specific than class.
JQuery:
$('#elem').addClass('notransition'); // to remove transition
$('#elem').removeClass('notransition'); // to return to previouse transition