Today - Washingtons Birthday...Breezy. Mostly cloudy. Slight chance of snow in the morning...then chance of snow in the afternoon. Southwest winds 15 to 20 mph. Chance of snow 40 percent. Highs 20°F to 26°F. Lowest wind chill readings -12°F to -22°F in the morning.

Tonight...Breezy. Snow likely. Snow accumulation of 1 to 2 inches. Southwest winds 15 to 20 mph. Chance of snow 70 percent. Lows 9°F to 15°F.

Tuesday...Breezy...snow. Snow accumulation around 2 inches. Southwest winds 15 to 25 mph. Chance of snow 80 percent. Highs 26°F to 32°F.

Tuesday Night...Breezy. Snow likely. Snow accumulation of 2 to 3 inches. West winds 20 to 25 mph. Chance of snow 70 percent. Lows 20°F to 26°F.

Wednesday...Breezy. Snow likely in the morning...then snow in the afternoon. Snow accumulation of 2 to 4 inches. Southwest winds 20 to 25 mph with gusts to around 40 mph. Chance of snow 80 percent. Highs 30°F to 36°F.

Wednesday Night...Breezy...colder. Snow likely. Light snow accumulations. Chance of snow 70 percent. Lows 9°F to 15°F.

Thursday...Cloudy with a 40 percent chance of snow. Highs 20°F to 26°F.

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

Friday...Mostly cloudy with a 40 percent chance of snow. Highs 22°F to 28°F.

Friday Night...Mostly cloudy with a 40 percent chance of snow. Lows 9°F to 15°F.

Saturday...Breezy. Cloudy with a 40 percent chance of snow. Highs 24°F to 30°F.

Saturday Night...Mostly cloudy with a 40 percent chance of snow. Lows 3°F to 9°F.

Sunday...Mostly cloudy with a 40 percent chance of snow. Highs 19°F to 25°F.

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

Mountain Weather

Over the past 24 hours quiet weather has been in place over southwest Montana. This pattern should continue through much of today. Currently, mountain temperatures are ranging from the single digits to low teens Fahrenheit and winds are blowing out of the West-northwest at 15-25 mph. Today, temperatures will climb into the twenties Fahrenheit and winds will gradually increase out of the West-northwest blowing 25-35 mph. Skies will remain mostly clear through the morning, but an approaching front will produce increasing clouds by this evening. A warming trend will allow temperatures to rise to above seasonal averages by tomorrow.

Snowpack and Avalanche Discussion:

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

The snowpack continues to show signs of weakness:

• Yesterday, skiers intentionally triggered one of the Titanic Chutes off Yellow Mountain near Big Sky. This slide broke 7 to 10 inches deep and propagated over 400 feet across.

• Other skiers in Beehive Basin observed a significant avalanche on a west-facing slope around 9000 feet.

• On Saturday night, Doug observed recent avalanche activity while involved with a search and rescue mission near Sacajawea in the Northern Bridger range. He and his rescue partners came upon debris from a large natural avalanche that originated in the bowls above Fairy Lake.

• A skier near Cooke City observed natural avalanche activity on east and north facing slopes.

• The Bridger Bowl Ski Patrol triggered soft slab avalanches during control work yesterday.

A weak interface between the old snow surface and new storm snow is the culprit for most of the activity. Any slope that has received a wind load or is steeper than 35 degrees will be the most susceptible to human triggered avalanches. Steep rollovers or areas where the snowpack is thinner, mainly around rock outcroppings or near thin scoured areas will be likely trigger points.

The widespread nature of the avalanche activity is a good reminder that storms of six inches or less are still capable of producing dangerous avalanches.

Although the snowpack has had a day to adjust it will remain reactive to the weight of a skier or rider. For this reason the Avalanche Danger is rated CONSIDERABLE on wind loaded slopes and slopes steeper than 35 degrees. Less steep, non wind loaded slopes have MODERATE Avalanche Danger.

The next advisory tomorrow morning at 7:30 a.m. If you have any snowpack or avalanche observations, drop us a line at mtavalanche@gmail.com or call us at: 406-587-6984.

Beacon Parks

The Friends of the Avalanche Center installed a Beacon Training Park outside West Yellowstone. It's located south of town on the main snowmobile trail. Stop by and do a quick practice before heading off into the mountains!

EDUCATION, EVENTS, PHOTOS, SNOWPITS, and VIDEOS

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. Check out all our education programs, Click Here.

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