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. Also, see the Avalanche Advisory posted below.

Today: Mostly cloudy with scattered snow showers. Southwest winds around 15 mph. Chance of snow 30 percent. Highs 23°F to 29°F.

Tonight: Mostly cloudy with scattered snow showers. Southwest winds around 15 mph in the evening. Chance of snow 30 percent. Lows 13°F to 19°F.

Tuesday: Mostly cloudy with isolated snow showers. Southwest winds around 15 mph in the afternoon. Chance of snow 20 percent. Highs 27°F to 33°F.

Tuesday Night: Partly cloudy in the evening then becoming mostly cloudy. Isolated snow showers. Southwest winds around 15 mph. Chance of snow 20 percent. Lows 13°F to 19°F.

Wednesday: Mostly cloudy with scattered snow showers. West winds around 15 mph in the afternoon. Chance of snow 30 percent. Highs 22°F to 28°F.

Wednesday Night: Colder. Partly cloudy. Lows 6°F to 12°F.

Thursday: Partly cloudy. Highs 25°F to 31°F.

Thursday Night: Partly cloudy. Lows 7°F to 13°F.

Friday: Partly cloudy in the morning then becoming mostly cloudy. A 30 percent chance of snow. Highs 23°F to 29°F.

Friday Night: Mostly cloudy with a 30 percent chance of snow. Lows 7°F to 13°F.

Saturday: Mostly cloudy with a 20 percent chance of snow. Highs 21°F to 27°F.

Saturday Night: Partly cloudy. Lows 1°F to 9°F.

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

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Mountain Weather

This morning mountain temperatures are in the mid-teens to low twenties Fahrenheit and westerly winds are blowing 5 to 20 mph with ridgetop gusts reaching close to 50 mph in Hyalite. Today, temperatures will warm into the mid-twenties to low thirties Fahrenheit and winds will continue to blow 10 to 20 mph out of the west. Ridgetop gusts will remain strong in the mountains around Bozeman and Big Sky blowing 30 to 40 mph. An unsettled northwest flow aloft will produce light flurries in the mountains of southwest Montana; however, accumulations will stay less than an inch.

Snowpack and Avalanche Discussion:

Bridger Range, Northern Madison Range, and Cooke City:

Quiet weather over the past two days has allowed the snowpack to trend towards stability. Yesterday, I traveled south of Bridger Bowl expecting to find touchy conditions. Instead, my partners and I found a snowpack unwilling to produce signs of instability. This was a bit surprising considering the snowpack structure (photo). Observations from the Big Sky and Moonlight Basin Ski Patrols also point towards a snowpack that is gaining strength.

Although the snowpack is working overtime to adjust, heavily loaded slopes are far from reaching a happy balance. Today, throw a human trigger on any wind loaded slope steeper than 35 degrees and you will likely to get an avalanche. Fortunately this type of hazard is easy to recognize and avoid.

A secondary concern is faceted snow buried 2 to 3 feet deep. This problem is most noticeable in areas that had a shallow snowpack prior to the latest round of storms. Mid to low elevation terrain such Yellow Mountain near Big Sky and Town Hill outside of Cooke City will be likely areas to encounter this problem. In upper elevation terrain, south and west facing slopes hold the best potential for faceted snow near the ground (video).

Today, wind loaded slopes steeper than 35 degrees have a CONSIDERABLE Avalanche Danger. All other slopes have a MODERATE Avalanche Danger.

Northern Gallatin Range:

A shallow snowpack before last week's pounding allowed many slopes to become weak and faceted. These slopes are now covered by 2 to 3 feet of new snow. Faceted snow near the ground is widespread in mid to low elevation terrain and can be found on many slopes in the alpine. This poor structure has been responsible for both natural and human triggered avalanches throughout the week. If you're traveling around Hyalite or the surrounding area pay attention to signs of instability such as cracking and collapsing and thoroughly assess the snowpack before committing to slopes steeper than 30 degrees.

Today, the presence of a buried facets capped by a new snow will make human triggered avalanches likely on slopes steeper than 35 degrees which have a CONSIDERABLE Avalanche Danger. Less steep slopes have a MODERATE Avalanche Danger.

Southern Madison Range, the Lionhead Area near West Yellowstone:

The southern Mountains did not receive as much snow over the past week; but buried persistent weak layers will keep the snowpack on edge. Yesterday, skiers in the Taylor Fork near Lightning Creek remotely triggered a slide from 100 meters away (photo). This slide likely failed on a layer of near surface facets formed in mid-January. This type of persistent weak layer is notorious for producing avalanches weeks even months after being buried. Conservative decision making and careful snowpack evaluation is essential when riding in the southern mountains.

Today, human triggered avalanches are likely on slopes steeper than 35 degrees which have a CONSIDERABLE Avalanche Danger. Less steep slopes have a 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.

EDUCATION, PHOTOS, SNOWPITS, and VIDEOS

1. For links to Articles, Education and (photos), (snowpits), or (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.