Today...Breezy. Mostly cloudy. Chance of snow in the morning...then snow likely in the afternoon. Snow accumulation around 2 inches. Highs 27°F to 33°F. Southwest winds 15 to 20 mph. Chance of snow 70 percent.

Tonight...Breezy. Cloudy with a 50 percent chance of snow. Lows 15°F to 21°F. Southwest winds 15 to 20 mph.

Sunday...Snow likely. Snow accumulation of 2 to 3 inches. Highs 29°F to 35°F. Chance of snow 70 percent.

Sunday Night...Snow likely. Snow accumulation of 2 to 3 inches. Lows 10°F to 16°F. Chance of snow 60 percent.

Monday...Cloudy. Snow likely in the morning...then chance of snow in the afternoon. Snow accumulation around 1 inch. Total snow accumulation 5 to 7 inches. Highs 28°F to 34°F. Chance of snow 60 percent.

Monday Night...Colder. Mostly cloudy with a 30 percent chance of snow. Lows 3°F to 9°F.

Tuesday...Partly cloudy with a 20 percent chance of snow. Highs 23°F to 29°F.

Tuesday Night...Partly cloudy with a 20 percent chance of snow. Lows 3°F to 9°F.

Wednesday...Mostly cloudy with a 20 percent chance of snow. Highs 29°F to 35°F.

Wednesday Night...Partly cloudy with a 20 percent chance of snow. Lows 10°F to 16°F.

Thursday...Mostly cloudy with a 20 percent chance of snow. Highs 31°F to 37°F.

Thursday Night...Cloudy with a 40 percent chance of snow. Lows 13°F to 19°F.

Friday...Cloudy with a 40 percent chance of snow. Highs 26°F to 32°F.

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

Mountain Weather

Over the past 24 hours a trace to one inch of new snow has fallen over the mountains of our advisory area. Currently, winds are blowing 15-30 mph out of the Westsouthwest and temperatures are in the mid teens to low 20s Fahrenheit. Today, winds will gradually increase out of the Westsouthwest with ridgetop gusts reaching close to 40 mph. Temperatures will rise into the mid 20s to low 30s Fahrenheit under cloudy skies. An approaching storm will impact our area by late afternoon producing light mountain snow showers. 2 to 4 inches of snow will likely accumulate in most areas by tomorrow morning with the exception of Cooke City which will likely pick up 4 to 6 inches.

Snowpack and Avalanche Discussion:

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

Avalanche activity seems to have taken an early spring break. I spoke with multiple parties who ventured into the backcountry yesterday; all had a similar response - it's pretty quiet out there. Warm and calm conditions over the past 24 hours have likely reduced any avalanche threat from the snow that fell Thursday night. Yesterday, Mark logged in the miles in the Taylor Fork hunting for lingering instability; in four different snowpits he found stable dense snow. This seems to be a theme throughout our advisory area.

If stable conditions have you seeking adventure in steep consequential terrain, there are few things to keep in mind. Moderate westerly winds over the past few days have produced small wind drifts on leeward aspects. The most likely areas to find pockets of windblown snow will be on upper elevation slopes, especially slopes with an easterly component. Pockets of windblown snow likely have bonded well to the old snow surface, but triggering a small wind slab will not be impossible. Paying close attention to the consequences of triggering a slide is important. Even a small side has the potential to carry you into trees, rocks, gullies or over cliffs.

Although generally stable conditions exist; the avalanche danger could potentially increase throughout the day with an early arrival of snow and wind. Always be cognizant of the current weather and the effects it is having on your surroundings.

For today, generally safe avalanche conditions exist and the Avalanche Danger is rated LOW.

Since yesterday morning the mountains near Cooke City received 6 inches of snow while all other areas received 1 to 3 inches. Yesterday evening westerly winds increased to 20-30 mph but decreased this morning to 10-20 mph. Temperatures this morning were in the low teens Fahrenheit and should warm to the mid 20s Fahrenheit. Today will be mostly cloudy and only a trace of snow might fall by tomorrow morning. Snowfall should resume on Saturday.

Snowpack and Avalanche Discussion:

The Bridger, Madison and Gallatin Ranges, the Lionhead area near West Yellowstone:

The current weather pattern is perfect - a few inches of snow everyday with light winds and mostly cloudy skies. This type of weather:

• Prevents the formation of new persistent weak layers.

• Limits wind slab formation.

• Keeps the skiing and riding good without stressing the snowpack.

Avalanche issues in the new snow are minimal. New snow has mostly bonded well to the old snow surface. Some new snow fell as little pellets called graupel which can be a temporary weak layer but usually bonds within 24-48 hrs. Also, a few fresh wind slabs may exist after a few hours of increased westerly winds last night.

Avalanche issues in the old snow primarily involve hard wind slabs that formed last weekend and early this week. Fortunately these hard slabs have mostly bonded and triggering one will be difficult though not impossible. Likely areas to trigger one of these hard slabs are slopes that have been scoured by winds and have a thin and weak snowpack. The Big Sky Ski Patrol triggered a small pocket of old snow with explosives in one of these areas Most of these slopes remain scoured, but a few may have slabs from cross loading winds.

For today, with mostly light winds and no widespread stability concerns, the Avalanche Danger is rated LOW. Generally safe avalanche conditions exist, but watch for unstable snow on isolated terrain features because a LOW Danger ≠ NO Danger.

The mountains around Cooke City and the Washburn Range:

The mountains near Cooke City received 6 inches of new snow. Much of this snow fell as little pellets called graupel that can be a temporary weak layer. Deeper layers of snow are well bonded and human triggered avalanches should be small. One isolated exception – a skier triggered avalanche near Round Lake on Sunday. This avalanche occurred on facets near an ice crust about 2 feet deep. Fortunately this layering does not exist on most slopes.

For today the Avalanche Danger is rated MODERATE on wind loaded slopes. All other slopes have a LOW Avalanche Danger.

PHOTOS, SNOWPITS, VIDEO and SURVEY RESULTS

1. We've recently uploaded more photos and snowpits to our web site, more than what are linked in the advisory.

2. We're creating a series of "How To…" stability test videos. So far we've got clips on performing a CT and ECT. There are located under Stability Tests on the Resources page.

3. The results from our survey are posted online. Thanks to all who participated. You can check out the results at http://bit.ly/fpLuSi.

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

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.

Upcoming Events

TODAY - SATURDAY - 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.