Today...Breezy. Snow likely. Areas of blowing snow. Snow accumulation around 1 inch. Highs 16°F to 22°F. Southwest winds 15 to 20 mph. Chance of snow 70 percent.

Tonight...Snow likely in the evening...then snow after midnight. Snow accumulation of 1 to 2 inches. Lows 1°F to 7°F. Southwest winds around 15 mph in the evening. Chance of snow 80 percent.

Thursday...Snow. Snow accumulation of 2 to 4 inches. Highs 11°F to 17°F. Southwest winds around 15 mph in the afternoon. Chance of snow near 100 percent.

Thursday Night...Colder...snow. Snow accumulation of 2 to 3 inches. Total snow accumulation 6 to 12 inches. Lows -8°F to 0°F. Chance of snow 80 percent.

Friday...Cloudy with a 40 percent chance of snow. Highs 7°F to 13°F.

Friday Night...Colder. Mostly cloudy with a 20 percent chance of snow. Lows -8°F to -18°F.

Saturday...Partly cloudy with a 20 percent chance of snow. Highs 11°F to 17°F. Lowest wind chill readings -34°F to -44°F in the morning.

Saturday Night...Partly cloudy. Lows -1°F to -11°F. Wind chill readings -27°F to -37°F.

Sunday...Partly cloudy with a 20 percent chance of snow. Highs 15°F to 21°F.

Sunday Night...Partly cloudy with a 20 percent chance of snow. Lows -1°F to 5°F.

Monday...Breezy. Partly cloudy with a 20 percent chance of snow. Highs 21°F to 27°F.

Monday Night...Breezy. Partly cloudy with a 20 percent chance of snow. Lows 4°F to 10°F.

Tuesday...Breezy. Partly cloudy with a 30 percent chance of snow. Highs 25°F to 31°F.

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Mountain Weather

Since yesterday morning the southern mountains picked up five to seven inches of snow while the northern ranges got two inches. With mountain temperatures in the single digits, westerly winds are averaging 15 mph with gusts to 30 mph. Today will be mostly cloudy with a few flurries and temperatures only rising to near 10°F. Tonight the mountains should get two to four inches of new snow with light southwest winds and temperatures dropping near 0°F.

Snowpack and Avalanche Discussion:

The Bridger, northern Madison and northern Gallatin Ranges:

This passing storm had a poor showing in the northern mountains and only dropped two inches. I had high expectations, but the storm just gave us a peck on the cheek. Without much new snow and winds blowing light from the west-southwest, the snowpack will not be under much stress. Mark toured up Hyalite to the Flanders Mountain weather station yesterday. He found mostly stable snow and wind slabs becoming more stubborn and less hair-trigger. He was unable to get the snow to fracture in his stability tests. There may still be isolated areas where a thin layer of facets two feet under the surface could avalanche, but this concern is not widespread.

Given the 16-24 inches of snow that's fallen in the past seven days with wind, the Avalanche Danger today is rated MODERATE.

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

In the last 24 hours, the southern mountains got a half an inch of snow water equivalency (SWE) which translates into five to seven inches of snow. This is on top of two feet of snow (two inches of snow water) they've gotten in the last week. This load has been added gradually which helps the snowpack adjust and stabilize to the stress of this snowfall. Winds are blowing west-northwest at 15-30 mph, strong enough to continue loading the lee sides of ridges. On Monday, I was in the Lionhead area and had a layer of small grained facets fracture in my snowpit, something I was not expecting. This layer was created February 2nd and is not an issue on most slopes. But the fact that I got it to propagate in my test means it's worth looking out for.

With continued snow and winds, avalanches are likely to be triggered on wind-loaded slopes which have a CONSIDERABLE Avalanche Danger. All other slopes have a MODERATE Avalanche Danger.

New Snowpits Page

In response to our survey we added a new page to the website with images of our snowpit profiles. This page is under the Resources/Other Info tab at http://fsavalanche.org/Encyclopedia/snowpit.htm

Truman Avalanche Report:

The report on the avalanche fatality from February 14th in Truman's Gulch on the west side of the Bridger Range is posted online. You can read it here: http://www.mtavalanche.com/accident/11/02/18.

Information provided by Doug Chabot, Mark Staples, and Eric Knoff from the Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center. For Photos and Videos, please visit the Avalanche Centers Website!

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.

3rd Annual Montana Ale Works Fundraiser

When & Where: March 1, Tuesday at 6:00 p.m. in the Railcar.

Cost: $20 to benefit the Friends of the Avalanche Center

Details: Chef Roth at Montana Ale Works is creating tapas style servings that will be paired with select beer from Lone Peak Brewery. More information HERE.

Pinhead Classic

The 30th Annual Pinhead Classic on is Saturday, March 5th. "Gangsters and Flappers" is this year's costume theme, so come dressed up to race, socialize and wind great prizes. Registration is $30 but get you all sorts of cool stuff. All proceeds benefit the Friends of the Avalanche Center. Check out the website http://pinheadclassic.com for details.