Caution advised for snow falling off of building roofs. Park accordingly.

Dangerous avalanche conditions may already exist in many back country areas, please call the Recorded Avalanche Advisory 406-587-6981 for the most current conditions.

Today: Mostly cloudy with a 40 percent chance of snow. Highs 13°F to 19°F.

Tonight: Partly cloudy. A 20 percent chance of snow in the evening. Lows -3°F to 3°F.

Monday: Mostly cloudy in the morning then becoming partly cloudy. Highs 13°F to 19°F.

Monday Night / New Years Eve: Mostly cloudy in the evening then becoming partly cloudy. Lows -5°F to 1°F. * Happy New Year *

Tuesday / New Years Day: Partly cloudy. A 20 percent chance of snow in the afternoon. Highs 14°F to 20°F. * Happy New Year *

Tuesday Night / New Years Night: Partly cloudy with a 20 percent chance of snow. Lows -2°F to 4°F. * Happy New Year *

Wednesday: Partly cloudy. Highs 17°F to 23°F.

Wednesday Night: Mostly clear. Lows -4°F to 4°F.

Thursday: Mostly sunny. Highs 21°F to 27°F.

Thursday Night: Mostly clear. Lows 3°F to 9°F.

Friday: Mostly sunny in the morning then becoming partly cloudy. A 20 percent chance of snow. Highs 22°F to 28°F.

Friday Night: Partly cloudy in the evening then clearing. A 20 percent chance of snow. Lows 6°F to 12°F.

Saturday: Partly cloudy with a 20 percent chance of snow. Highs 20°F to 26°F.

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Mountain Weather

Overnight a trace of new snow fell in the mountains. An additional 1 to 2 inches is possible by this afternoon. Currently, temperatures are in the single digits Fahrenheit and winds are blowing 5 to 10 mph from the west-southwest. Temperatures will warm into the teens Fahrenheit today and winds will switch to the west-northwest blowing 5 to 15 mph. No snow is expected tonight through tomorrow.

Snowpack and Avalanche Discussion:

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

Skiers and riders have been observing a generally strong snowpack throughout our forecast area. A large holiday crowd has been pushing the envelope with little activity to report. The problem with this situation is that the more avalanche terrain people cover, the higher the probability becomes of someone triggering a slide (photo, video).

The second problem is people are becoming less focused on safe backcountry travel. Over the past week I've observed numerous situations where multiple people are riding a slope at the same time. This type of behavior increases the chance of an unfavorable outcome if an avalanche is triggered. Whether skinning up, skiing down or pushing the throttle, safe backcountry protocol is essential.

Today, triggering an avalanche will require finding the right spot on the right slope. In many cases, multiple skiers or riders can hit a slope before someone impacts a buried weak layer. Steep, rocky terrain, specifically where the snowpack is less than 3 feet deep will be areas susceptible to producing an avalanche. Taking time to assess the snowpack and terrain before committing to steep slopes is a good habit to get into.

* * NEW WEAK LAYERS FORMED * *

Periods of cold, clear weather have turned the top few inches of snow into weaker, small grained facets. These near surface instabilities do not exist on all slopes, but have been observed throughout our forecast area. This layer is now capped by a few inches of new snow. It is not deep enough to be a major avalanche concern yet, but it's something to look for since these layers tend to persist.

Today, human triggered avalanches are possible and the Avalanche Danger is rated MODERATE.

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.

PHOTOS, SNOWPITS, and VIDEOS

1. For links to Articles, Education and (photos) and (videos) listed in the above report, please visit this Link.

2. They have recently uploaded more photos and snowpits to their web site, more than what are linked in the advisory above.

3. They have creating a series of "How To…" stability test videos. So far they have clips on performing a CT and ECT. They are located under Stability Tests on their Resources page.

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.