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Daily Winter Weather Report

Date: Tuesday - February 01, 2011


Station Max Temp Min Temp Pres Temp New Snow Depth Sky Present Conditions
Canyon 10 -36 -35 0 41   Calm / Clear
East Entrance 15 -32 -31 T 36   Calm / Clear
Grant Village -5 -34 -5 0 45   Calm / Clear
Lake 13 -28 -20 0 30   Calm / Clear
Lamar 37 -37 -35 T 27   Calm / Clear
Madison 9 -34 -31 0 28   Calm / Clear
Mammoth 3 -16 -15 0 20   SE@1mph / gust 3mph / Clear
Old Faithful 13 -26 -24 0 28   Calm / Clear
Snake River 17 -21 -20 0 50   Winds 1-5mph / Clear
Tower 10 -32 -28 0 26   S@10-15mph / Clear
West Entrance 15 -35 -34 0 36   Calm / Clear
T=Trace / BC=Broken Clouds / OC=Overcast / SC=Scattered Clouds
All Temperatures are in °F ~ All Snow Depths are in Inches


* * * Road Conditions * * *
Road Section Status Conditions Public Access / Info
Gardiner to Mammoth YR Fair STR
Mammoth to Tower YR Fair STR
Tower to NE Entrance YR Fair STR
Beartooth Highway CLOSED * CLOSED * CLOSED *
Canyon to Lake Open Fair Oversnow
Firehole Canyon Drive Open - Oversnow - Snowcoaches only in the morning
Grant to South Entrance Open Good Oversnow
Junction to Chief Joseph Hwy CLOSED * CLOSED * CLOSED *
Lake to East Entrance Open Good Oversnow
Lake to West Thumb Open Good Oversnow
Madison to Old Faithful Open Good Oversnow
Madison to West Yellowstone Open Good Oversnow
Mammoth to Norris Open Fair Oversnow
Norris to Canyon Open Fair Oversnow
Norris to Madison Open Good Oversnow
Old Faithful to Grant Open Good Oversnow

YR=Year Round / NR=No Restrictions / STA=Snow Tires Advised / STR=Snow Tires Required

* NOTE: CLOSED FOR THE SEASON.

# Poor road conditions - bare spots and melting snow - Restricted to Snowcoaches Only.

The park service plowing schedule for roads for the spring season.

******** FOR CURRENT ROAD INFORMATION PLEASE CALL 307-344-2117 ********

 SPECIAL INFORMATION

Yellowstone Seven Day Forecast on 01 February 2011
by the National Weather Service Riverton, WY

Today...Partly cloudy. Patchy freezing fog in the morning. Highs -6°F to 0°F. Northeast winds around 15 mph in the morning. Lowest wind chill readings -44°F to -54°F in the morning.

Tonight...Mostly clear. Patchy freezing fog after midnight. Lows -21°F to -31°F. North winds around 15 mph early in the evening.

Wednesday...Not as cold. Mostly sunny in the morning then becoming partly cloudy. Patchy freezing fog in the morning. Highs 10°F to 18°F. Lowest wind chill readings -44°F to -54°F in the morning.

Wednesday Night...Not as cold. Partly cloudy. Patchy freezing fog after midnight. Lows -6°F to 4°F.

Thursday...Not as cold. Partly cloudy. Patchy freezing fog in the morning. Highs 23°F to 29°F.

Thursday Night...Mostly cloudy. Slight chance of snow in the evening...then chance of snow after midnight. Lows 7°F to 13°F. Chance of snow 30 percent.

Friday...Mostly cloudy with a 40 percent chance of snow. Highs 24°F to 30°F.

Friday Night...Cloudy with a 50 percent chance of snow. Lows 17°F to 23°F.

Saturday...Cloudy with a 50 percent chance of snow. Highs 27°F to 33°F.

Saturday Night...Mostly cloudy with a 50 percent chance of snow. Lows 15°F to 21°F.

Sunday...Mostly cloudy with a 50 percent chance of snow. Highs 23°F to 29°F.

Sunday Night...Much colder. Mostly cloudy in the evening then becoming partly cloudy. A 20 percent chance of snow. Lows -1°F to -7°F.

Monday...Colder. Partly cloudy. Highs 5°F to 11°F.

Snowflake Hazardous Weather Snowflake Gibbon Falls Forecast Snowflake Mammoth Forecast Snowflake Midway Forecast Snowflake Norris Forecast Snowflake Old Faithful Forecast Snowflake

* * * Snow Depth Totals as reported at SNOTELs * * *
Station Depth (inches) Station Depth (inches)
Black Bear 86 Parker Peak 75
Blackwater 55 Snake River Station 27
Canyon 42 Sylvan Lake 54
Evening Star 77 Sylvan Road 40
Fisher Creek 85 Thumb Divide 44
Grassy Lake 76 Two Ocean Plateau 68
Lewis Lake Divide 73 West Yellowstone 34
Madison Plateau 55 Whiskey Creek 46
Northeast Entrance 33 Wolverine 40

Avalanche Information
from the Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center - February 01, 2011 - this report is by Doug Chabot

Mountain Weather

Brrrr. After getting used to the warm weather last week, this morning's mountain temperatures are downright nasty. Minus 16°F to minus 20°F is the average with clear skies and light northerly winds at 5-15 mph. Today will be sunny, but cold. Temperatures will rise into the low single digits before plummeting again tonight to minus 15°F or minus 20°F; is there really a difference? High pressure, clear skies and temperatures in the teens are forecasted for tomorrow with a warming trend all week.

Snowpack and Avalanche Discussion:

The Bridger, Madison and Gallatin Ranges, the Lionhead area near West Yellowstone, and the mountains around Cooke City and the Washburn Range:

Stable snow prevails over most of our advisory area. Layers in the snowpack are bonding well which are confirmed in our snowpits, tests and field investigations. As folks expand their territory searching for untracked powder, they are finding avalanches that broke over a week ago in thinner snow and also near ridgelines on wind-loaded slopes. Eric and his partner checked out an older slide up Dudley Creek which was the result of a cornice break on heavily drifted snow.

Thinner snowpacks are weaker and can be found with a quick stab of a ski pole or by stepping off a sled. If you hit dirt, go somewhere else. Not only will the riding and sliding be better, but it'll be safer too. Snowpack assessment doesn't get much easier than this. Although the snowpack structure is weak in spots, without a new snow load most slopes are staying put.

Yesterday, folks reported small wind slabs breaking in the Bridger Range and also outside Cooke City. Winds have calmed, but it's still possible to trigger a small slide on a wind-loaded slope.

For today, the Avalanche Danger is rated MODERATE on wind-loaded slopes steeper than 35 degrees. All other slopes have a LOW Avalanche Danger.

Surface hoar was found over the weekend on some slopes. It appears to be a random distribution, but these feathery crystals are now capped with an inch or two of snow from Sunday night. Cold temperatures, clear nights and sunny days could further weaken the top six to eight inches of the snowpack. If you're interested in learning more about this process, you can read my article, No Snow, Big Problem.

Information provided by Doug Chabot, Mark Staples, and Eric Knoff from the Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center.

If you have any snowpack or avalanche observations, drop them a line at mtavalanche@gmail.com or call: 406-587-6984.

For detailed Avalanche Terms utilized here, please see the Avalanche Glossary.


West Yellowstone: Beacon Park Operational

Skiing or riding near West Yellowstone? Test your beacon skills at a beacon park near the old airport where you can search for pre-placed beacons switched on/off by a control panel. Look for it by orange snow fence and signage just south of the snow cross track.

9th ANNUAL KING AND QUEEN OF THE RIDGE

The 9th Annual King and Queen of the Ridge will be held at Bridger Bowl on Saturday, February 12. ALL proceeds go to the Friends of the Avalanche Center who use the money to promote avalanche education in southwest Montana. Last winter we taught 64 classes reaching over 4,900 people. You can help raise money to continue this education in 2 ways:

1). Get pledges and hike the ridge. You don't have to do 20 laps – you can get flat pledges and hike just once! Or you can test your mettle and try and break John Yarington's record of 29 laps in 5 hours.

2). Sponsor someone. If you don't have someone to sponsor, consider sponsoring the GNFAC since we'll be hiking for dollars. Click Here for more information and registration forms.

Avalanche Danger Scale

Back to the Yellowstone Daily Winter Reports or the Yellowstone Weather Page

Information provided by Yellowstone National Park, National Weather Service and Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center


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