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. Chance of snow 40 percent. Highs 22°F to 28°F.

Tonight: Mostly cloudy with scattered snow showers. Chance of snow 40 percent. Lows 6°F to 12°F.

Friday: Breezy. Cloudy with a 50 percent chance of snow. Southwest winds 15 to 20 mph in the afternoon. Highs 21°F to 27°F.

Friday Night: Breezy...cloudy. Chance of snow in the evening... Then snow likely after midnight. Snow accumulation of 1 to 2 inches. Southwest winds 15 to 25 mph. Chance of snow 60 percent. Lows 13°F to 19°F with a possible wind chill of -1°F to -3°F.

Saturday: Snow likely. Snow accumulation around 2 inches. Total snow accumulation 3 to 4 inches. Southwest winds around 15 mph in the morning. Chance of snow 70 percent. Highs 20°F to 26°F.

Saturday Night: Colder. Mostly cloudy with a 50 percent chance of snow. Lows 6°F to 12°F.

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

Sunday Night: Partly cloudy in the evening then becoming mostly cloudy. A 20 percent chance of snow. Lows 4°F to 10°F.

Monday: Mostly cloudy with a 30 percent chance of snow. Highs 23°F to 29°F.

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

Tuesday: Mostly cloudy with a 30 percent chance of snow. Highs 23°F to 29°F.

Tuesday Night: Mostly cloudy in the evening then becoming partly cloudy. A 20 percent chance of snow. Lows 8°F to 14°F.

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

 Hazardous Weather Forecast  Yellowstone & Grand Teton Forecasts  Gibbon Falls Forecast  Mammoth Forecast  Midway Forecast  Norris Forecast  Old Faithful Forecast 

Mountain Weather

Since yesterday morning Hyalite Canyon received 3 to 5 inches of snow while all other areas received about 2 inches. Temperatures this morning were in the single digits and low teens Fahrenheit. Northerly winds were averaging 5 mph and gusting to 10 mph. Dry air will move over the area this afternoon and allow some sunshine. Temperatures will warm into the high teens Fahrenheit today and winds will remain light. A trace of snow may fall early tomorrow morning. Winds will shift to the West and increase Friday night.

Snowpack and Avalanche Discussion:

Cooke City:

On Tuesday there were two human triggered avalanches near Cooke City. A skier took a long ride down an east facing couloir off Miller Ridge when the cornice he was standing on broke and triggered a slide. He was not buried and sustained minor injuries. Snowmobilers triggered a slide on a southwest facing slope in Sheep Basin with a thin snowpack (photo). Avalanches also occurred on Saturday (photo) and Monday (photo).

These avalanches broke on facets in shallow areas or on a thin layer of facets sitting on an ice crust 1 to 2 feet deep. It is unclear if these recent avalanches are a product of widespread instabilities or a product a lot of people riding in avalanche terrain. Either way, avalanche activity is conclusive evidence of unstable snow and should not be ignored. For this reason, today the Avalanche Danger is rated CONSIDERABLE on all slopes steeper than 35 degrees and MODERATE on all other terrain.

Bridger, Gallatin, and Madison Ranges, and Lionhead Area near West Yellowstone:

The bad news: Weak faceted snow formed about one month ago and is now covered by a slab of snow 2 to 3 feet thick. This is a good recipe for avalanches. A skier triggered slide on Bridger Peak (photos and video) and a snowmobiler triggered slide on Lionhead on Tuesday and Sunday (photo) confirm the ability of this layer to produce avalanches. This weak layer of facets exists on many slopes and will persist for many weeks to come. On Tuesday while riding on Buck Ridge just south of Big Sky, my partner and I found this layer in almost all of our snowpits.

The good news: This layer of facets is variable which means slopes can be found where this layer either doesn't exist or is not very weak. Additionally winds have been incredibly light in recent days, and the load of new snow hasn't been added to the snowpack too quickly. With work (digging several snowpits and carefully assessing the snow and terrain), stable slopes can be found.

With a persistent weak layer buried 2 to 3 feet deep on many slopes, human triggered avalanches remain possible. Unfortunately this layer will not show many signs of instability and skiers and riders can hit many slopes before one slides. Today, the Avalanche Danger is rated MODERATE.

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.