Early This Morning...Partly cloudy. South winds around 15 mph. Lows -5°F to 3°F.

Today...Mostly cloudy. A 50 percent chance of snow in the afternoon. Highs 25°F to 31°F. Lowest wind chill readings -10°F to -20°F in the morning.

Tonight...Cloudy. Snow likely in the evening...then chance of snow after midnight. Snow accumulation of 1 to 2 inches. Chance of snow 70 percent. Lows 9°F to 15°F.

Tuesday...Chance of snow in the morning...then snow in the afternoon. Snow accumulation of 1 to 2 inches. Total snow accumulation 2 to 4 inches. West winds around 15 mph late in the afternoon. Chance of snow near 100 percent. Highs 23°F to 29°F.

Tuesday Night...Breezy. Mostly cloudy with a 20 percent chance of snow. Southwest winds 15 to 20 mph. Lows 6°F to 12°F.

Wednesday...Breezy. Chance of snow in the morning...then snow likely in the afternoon. Snow accumulation of 1 to 3 inches. Southwest winds 15 to 25 mph. Chance of snow 70 percent. Highs 22°F to 28°F.

Wednesday Night...Breezy. Snow likely in the evening...then chance of snow after midnight. Moderate snow accumulations. Chance of snow 60 percent. Lows 6°F to 12°F.

Thursday / March 1st...Cloudy with a 50 percent chance of snow. Highs 18°F to 24°F.

Thursday Night...Mostly cloudy with a 40 percent chance of snow. Lows 0°F to 6°F.

Friday...Mostly cloudy with a 20 percent chance of snow. Highs 19°F to 25°F.

Friday Night...Mostly cloudy with a 40 percent chance of snow. Lows 5°F to 11°F.

Saturday...Mostly cloudy with a 40 percent chance of snow. Highs 23°F to 29°F.

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

Sunday...Mostly cloudy with a 20 percent chance of snow. Highs 27°F to 33°F.

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

Mountain Weather

Since yesterday morning a trace to one inch of snow fell in most areas with the exception of the Bridger Range which picked up an additional 3 to 5 inches between 7:00 AM and 12:00 PM yesterday. Winds have been decreasing over the past 24 hours and are currently blowing 5-15 mph out of the South-southeast. Temperatures are in the single digits Fahrenheit under mostly cloudy skies. Today, temperatures will warm into the low twenties Fahrenheit and winds will gradually shift to the Southwest blowing 5-15 mph. Skies will be partly cloudy in the north, but a weak weather disturbance in the south will produce a chance of snow showers for the mountains around West Yellowstone and Cooke City, 1 to 2 inches is possible by this afternoon. An unsettled weather pattern will remain over the southern mountains through tomorrow, but the north will stay mostly dry.

Snowpack and Avalanche Discussion:

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

Saturday's storm definitely packed a punch. By the time it was all over the Bridger Range picked up over a foot of snow and the mountains around West Yellowstone picked up 8 to 10 inches. All other areas picked up 6 to 8 inches. Winds were also strong during the storm blowing 30-40 mph out of the West-northwest. Regardless of the amounts, this latest blast of snow added additional stress to an already burdened and irritated snowpack.

Yesterday, multiple natural and human triggered avalanches were reported throughout our advisory area. The most notable was a large natural avalanche that occurred on Saddle Peak just south of Bridger Bowl. This slide broke 3 to 5 feet deep on facets near the ground and propagated hundreds of feet across. Fortunately nobody was involved. Additional activity includes:

• A skier triggered slide yesterday on a south facing slope near Bradley Meadow north of Bridger Bowl. The slide initiated in the new snow but stepped down to the ground.

• A remote trigger yesterday on an east facing slope near Big Sky. The same skier also experienced widespread cracking and collapsing.

• On Saturday a skier near Cooke City experienced cracking and collapsing on lower elevation south facing slopes.

• Also on Saturday, skiers near West Yellowstone experienced widespread cracking and collapsing and received unstable results during stability tests.

• On Friday a skier triggered and was caught in a large slide on Saddle Peak south of Bridger Bowl. The following day a skier triggered a large side in Wolverine north of Bridger Bowl.

Unfortunately there are very few slopes that lack buried persistent weak layers. A layer of weak, near surface facets buried 1 to 3 feet deep can be found on most aspects and elevations. Avalanches initiated on this layer can easily step down to facets near the ground.

Although natural activity will likely subside today, there is little question the snowpack will remain touchy to the weight of a skier or rider. Traveling in avalanche terrain will be like racing the Indy 500 without wearing your seat belt – you might get away with it, but the slightest mistake could be tragic.

Today, very dangerous avalanche conditions exist on slopes steeper than 35 degrees which have a HIGH Avalanche Danger. Slopes less than 35 degrees have a CONSIDERABLE Avalanche Danger.

* * ADDITIONAL INFORMATION * *

The accident reports for the avalanche fatality near Cooke City and the slide on Saddle Peak are now available. See links below.

http://www.mtavalanche.com/sites/default/files/Saddle%20Peak%20Accident_Public.pdf

http://www.mtavalanche.com/sites/default/files/Daisy%20Pass%20Avalanche%20Public.pdf

Also, another avalanche fatality occurred on Saturday near Marias Pass outside of Glacier National Park. This makes the third avalanche fatality to hit Montana in the past week and raises the total number of avalanche fatalities in the United States to 21.

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.

For Photos, Videos and More Detailed Information related to this report, Please Visit the Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center.

~ EVENT ~

31st Annual Pinhead Classic

Come to Bridger Bowl on Saturday, March 17th (Saint Patrick's Day) with telemark skis, AT skis, alpine skis, snowboards, split boards, or even snow blades. The theme is Snowpocalypse based on the wildly popular Mayan 2012 apocalypse. $30 gets you into the races, a pint glass, t-shirt, a good time, a raffle ticket, and food by Cafe Fresco. Pre-register at Mystery Ranch or Grizzly Ridge: March 11-16. Visit http://pinheadclassic.com/ or the Pinhead Facebook Page for more info.

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.