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 / Presidents' Day: Mostly cloudy with scattered snow showers in the morning... Then partly cloudy in the afternoon. Chance of snow 30 percent. Highs 20°F to 26°F.

Tonight / Presidents' Day Night: Partly cloudy. Lows 5°F to 11°F.

Tuesday: Partly cloudy in the morning...then mostly cloudy with a 30 percent chance of snow in the afternoon. South winds around 15 mph in the late morning and afternoon. Highs 27°F to 33°F.

Tuesday Night: Mostly cloudy with a 30 percent chance of snow. Lows 9°F to 15°F.

Wednesday: Cloudy with a 40 percent chance of snow. Highs 26°F to 32°F.

Wednesday Night: Mostly cloudy with a 40 percent chance of snow. Lows 4°F to 10°F.

Thursday: Cloudy with a 30 percent chance of snow. Highs 22°F to 28°F.

Thursday Night: Cloudy with a 30 percent chance of snow. Lows 7°F to 13°F.

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

Friday Night: Mostly cloudy with a 40 percent chance of snow. Lows 8°F to 14°F.

Saturday: Mostly cloudy with a 40 percent chance of snow. Highs 24°F to 30°F.

Saturday Night: Cloudy with a 40 percent chance of snow. Lows 8°F to 14°F.

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

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Mountain Weather

Over the past 24 hours the Bridger Range has received ten inches of new snow. The northern Gallatin Range has picked up 6 TO 8 inches and the mountains around Big Sky squeezed out 3 to 4 inches. The mountains near West Yellowstone and Cooke City picked up 1 to 2 inches. Currently, it's still snowing lightly in the northern mountains and temperatures are in the single digits to low teens Fahrenheit. Winds are blowing out of the West-northwest at 5 to 15 mph. Today, snow will end by late morning and temperatures will warm into the 20s Fahrenheit under partly to mostly cloudy skies. Winds will stay light and should shift to the West-southwest by this afternoon. No major accumulations are expected today into tomorrow.

Snowpack and Avalanche Discussion:

Cooke City and Lionhead Area near West Yellowstone:

The main concern in the mountains near West Yellowstone is a layer of facets buried 1 to 2 feet deep. This layer is most problematic on mid to low elevation slopes where the snowpack is a meter deep or less.

The main concern in the mountains around Cooke City is a layer of facets found on mid-elevation slopes, especially on south and east aspects. Recently, this layer produced collapsing and cracking under the weight of a skier (photo) - bulls eye data for instability. The possibility remains for a skier or rider to trigger and isolated wind slab in steep-upper elevation terrain.

Today, for the Lionhead Area near West Yellowstone and the mountains near Cooke City – human triggered avalanches are possible and the Avalanche Danger is rated MODERATE.

Southern Gallatin and Madison Ranges:

Over the past 48 hours the mountains around Big Sky have picked up 7 to 10 inches of new snow while the southern Madison and southern Gallatin Ranges have picked up 4 to 6 inches. This healthy shot of snow arrived with moderate to strong West-northwest winds which calmed and switched to the Southwest mid day yesterday. Wind loading occurred at upper elevations, predominately on slopes leeward to west winds. Today, pockets of wind drifted snow will remain sensitive to human triggers.

A secondary concern is a layer of facets buried 2 to 3 feet deep. Yesterday, I toured up Yellow Mountain and found this layer in multiple snowpits. This layer propagated with consistency during stability tests (photo). Skiers in the southern Madison Range found similar conditions up the Taylor Fork yesterday. Also, a snowmobiler remotely triggered a slide on this layer near Sage Peak on Friday. This is becoming a low probability high consequence situation that needs to be evaluated carefully before committing to avalanche terrain.

Today, the Avalanche Danger is rated CONSIDERABLE on steep - wind loaded slopes. All other slopes have a MODERATE Avalanche Danger.

Northern Gallatin Range:

The northern Gallatin Range has the weakest snowpack in our advisory area. A layer of facets buried 2 to 3 feet deep can be found on most aspects and elevations. On some slopes this layer exists near the ground while on others it can be found mid-pack. These buried weak layers are being stressed by the eight inches of new snow (.7 inches of SWE) that has accumulated over the past 48 hours. A secondary concern will be fresh wind slabs. In upper elevation terrain, specifically on slopes leeward to west winds, soft slabs will easily fail under the weight of skier or rider.

Today, wind slabs and buried weak layers make human triggered avalanches likely and the Avalanche Danger is rated CONSIDERABLE.

Bridger Range:

The Bridger Range has received 16 inches of new snow over the past 48 hours. Although winds have been relatively light during this storm, isolated wind slabs should be expected on leeward slopes below the ridgeline. A more common problem today will be loose snow avalanches. On steeper slopes, fast moving sluffs will carry enough volume to push or potentially burry a skier or rider.

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