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: Breezy...snow. Snow accumulation of 2 to 3 inches. Total snow accumulation 2 to 4 inches. West winds 15 to 20 mph. Chance of snow 80 percent. Highs 22°F to 28°F.

Tonight: Cloudy with a 50 percent chance of snow. West winds around 15 mph early in the evening. Lows 8°F to 14°F.

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

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

Friday: Partly cloudy with a 20 percent chance of snow. Highs 24°F to 30°F.

Friday Night: Partly cloudy in the evening then clearing. Lows 7°F to 13°F.

Saturday: Mostly sunny. Highs 26°F to 32°F.

Saturday Night: Partly cloudy in the evening then becoming mostly cloudy. A 30 percent chance of snow. Lows 11°F to 17°F.

Sunday: Mostly cloudy with a 50 percent chance of snow. Highs 21°F to 27°F.

Sunday Night: Colder. Mostly cloudy in the evening then becoming partly cloudy. A 30 percent chance of snow. Lows 1°F to 7°F.

Monday / Presidents' Day: Partly cloudy. Highs 17°F to 23°F.

Monday Night / Presidents' Day Night: Partly cloudy. Lows 3°F to 9°F.

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

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Mountain Weather

Yesterday morning 3 to 4 inches of snow fell around Big Sky with other areas receiving just a trace to one inch. Winds are still cranking from the west in the Bridger Range and Hyalite area at 30 to 50 mph; all other weather stations are measuring 15 to 30 mph. Under cloudy skies temperatures are in the mid-teens Fahrenheit. A moist northwest flow will drop 1 to 2 inches of snow today with mountain temperatures reaching the mid-20s Fahrenheit and wind speeds remaining the same.

Snowpack and Avalanche Discussion:

Cooke City:

Cooke City has a deep, mostly stable snowpack. Winds have been light which is a welcome change from normal. Although generally safe avalanche conditions exist, there are still isolated slopes at lower elevations that are thin and weak and could produce small slides. For today, the Avalanche Danger remains LOW.

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

The Bridger Range and mountains around Big Sky to West Yellowstone have two avalanche problems to be aware of:

1. Thin snowpacks are weaker;

2. Some slopes have a buried weak layer 1 to 2 feet under the surface.

On Monday, touring into Beehive Basin, I found thick layers of faceted grains in areas less than three feet deep. Thin snowpacks are weak and unstable and should be avoided. Yesterday, I went into Bacon Rind and easily found the layer of surface hoar buried under a foot of snow. It shows up as a high visibility stripe in the snowpit (photo, video). This layer is gaining strength, but I don't trust it and do not recommend getting on steep slopes where it exists. Over the weekend there were reports of cracking and collapsing in the northern Madison Range as well as a skier triggering an avalanche on Lionhead Ridge (photo).

For today, the Avalanche Danger is rated MODERATE on all slopes since human triggered avalanches are still possible.

Northern Gallatin Range:

The northern Gallatin Range is windy and had a foot of new snow to blow around from Sunday's storm. Yesterday, Mark toured into Alex Lowe Peak with the skier who was caught in Saturday's avalanche. Winds were blowing, gusting and building drifts. In most spots these were glued down and stable, but where they formed over weak layers they will be unstable. Mark dug in the avalanche crown and found a layer of small facets that broke under a hard slab. The avalanche was triggered from a thin spot (only two feet deep) which is indicative of a widespread problem throughout southwest Montana. Skiers in Flanders drainage yesterday skied lower angled slopes when they too found thin, weak snow in the upper elevations. Today the Avalanche Danger is rated CONSIDERABLE on all wind-loaded terrain. All other slopes have a MODERATE Avalanche Danger.

The next advisory tomorrow morning at 7:30 AM. 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.