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Daily Winter Weather Report

Date: Wednesday - 02 January 2013

Station Max Temp Min Temp Pres Temp New Snow Depth Sky Present Conditions
Bechler -1.0 -8.0 -3.0 0 30.99 OC NNW @ 1 mph
Canyon 3.2 1.6 1.6 0 25 OC  
East Entrance 12.0 1.4 1.4 0   OC  
Lake -0.9 -9.9 -0.9 .01   OC Calm
Madison 3.5 -0.6 -0.9     OC  
Mammoth 6.0 2.1 2.3 0 6.76 OC SSE @ 6 - 9 mph
NE Entrance -4.0 -9.2 -5.8 0 12 OC  
Old Faithful -2.0 -18.8 -2.0 .01 8.64 OC ESE @ 2 - 3 mph
Snake River -2.4 -7.2 -2.4 0 28 OC  
Soda Butte -13.6 -19.5 -13.6 0 2.40 OC  
Sylvan Lake 6.4 2.1 5.7 0 38 OC  
Sylvan Road -3.6 -9.2 -9.2 0 21 OC  
Thorofare 5.0 0.0 0.0 0 4.08 OC SE @ 2 mph
Thumb Divide -2.2 -13.9 -2.2 0 34 OC  
Tower -5.9 -10.2 -8.6 0 7.17 OC E @ 1 mph
West Entrance 4.3 1.9 4.3 0 18 OC  
T=Trace/ BC=Broken Clouds/ C=Clear/ OC=Overcast/ SC=Scattered Clouds
All Temperatures are in °F ~ All Snow Depths are in Inches

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* * * Road Conditions * * *
Road Section Status Conditions Public Access / Info
Gardiner to Mammoth YR   STR
Mammoth to Tower YR   STR
Tower to NE Entrance YR   STR
Beartooth Highway CLOSED * CLOSED * CLOSED *
Canyon to Lake Open   Rubber tracked oversnow concession vehicles
Firehole Canyon Drive CLOSED CLOSED CLOSED
Grant to South Entrance Open   Rubber tracked oversnow concession vehicles
Junction to Chief Joseph Hwy CLOSED * CLOSED * CLOSED *
Lake to East Entrance Open   Rubber tracked oversnow concession vehicles
Lake to West Thumb Open   Rubber tracked oversnow concession vehicles
Madison to Old Faithful Open   Rubber tracked oversnow concession vehicles
Madison to West Yellowstone Open   Rubber tracked oversnow concession vehicles
Mammoth to Norris Open   Rubber tracked oversnow concession vehicles
Norris to Canyon Open   Rubber tracked oversnow concession vehicles
Norris to Madison Open   Rubber tracked oversnow concession vehicles
Old Faithful to Grant Open   Rubber tracked oversnow concession vehicles
Tower to Canyon CLOSED * CLOSED * CLOSED *

YR=Year Round / NR=No Restrictions / STA=Snow Tires Advised / STR=Snow Tires Required

* NOTE: CLOSED FOR THE SEASON.

# Poor road conditions - bare spots and melting snow - Restricted to Snowcoaches Only.

The park service plowing schedule for roads for the spring season.

******** FOR CURRENT ROAD INFORMATION PLEASE CALL 307-344-2117 ********

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SPECIAL INFORMATION

    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.

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Yellowstone Seven Day Forecast on January 02, 2013
by the National Weather Service Riverton, WY

Today: Partly cloudy in the morning then clearing. Patchy fog in the morning. Highs 14°F to 20°F.

Tonight: Mostly clear. Patchy fog after midnight. Lows -6°F to 2°F.

Thursday: Not as cold. Mostly sunny. Patchy fog in the morning. Highs 23°F to 29°F.

Thursday Night: Mostly clear. Patchy fog after midnight. Lows -3°F to 5°F.

Friday: Mostly sunny in the morning then becoming partly cloudy. Patchy fog in the morning. Highs 21°F to 27°F.

Friday Night: Mostly clear. Patchy fog after midnight. Lows -4°F to 2°F.

Saturday: Sunny. Patchy fog in the morning. Highs 21°F to 27°F.

Saturday Night: Mostly clear. Patchy fog after midnight. Lows 6°F to 12°F.

Sunday: Partly cloudy. Patchy fog in the morning. Highs 21°F to 27°F.

Sunday Night: Partly cloudy. Lows 11°F to 17°F.

Monday: Partly cloudy. Highs 21°F to 27°F.

Monday Night: Partly cloudy. Lows 11°F to 17°F.

Tuesday: Partly cloudy in the morning then clearing. Highs 24°F to 30°F.

Snowflake Hazardous Weather Forecast Snowflake Gibbon Falls Forecast Snowflake Mammoth Forecast Snowflake Midway Forecast Snowflake Norris Forecast Snowflake Old Faithful Forecast Snowflake

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* * * Snow Depth Totals as reported at SNOTELs * * *
Station Depth (inches) Station Depth (inches)
Black Bear 71 Parker Peak 43
Blackwater 45 Snake River Station 28
Canyon 25 Sylvan Lake 38
Evening Star 46 Sylvan Road 21
Fisher Creek 63 Thumb Divide 34
Grassy Lake 49 Two Ocean Plateau 55
Lewis Lake Divide 58 West Yellowstone 18
Madison Plateau 46 Whiskey Creek 25
Northeast Entrance 12 Wolverine 18

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Avalanche Advisory

from the Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center - January 02, 2013 - this report is by Doug Chabot. This advisory does not apply to operating ski areas.

Mountain Weather

This morning I'm reporting no snow, clear skies, light winds and mountain temperatures in the single digits Fahrenheit. High pressure will keep skies sunny. Today's temperatures will warm into the low 20s Fahrenheit and winds will remain light out of the northwest at 10 to 15 mph. Tonight will be cold with single digit temperatures Fahrenheit, but over the next few days a general warming trend is predicted under mostly sunny skies.

Snowpack and Avalanche Discussion:

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

Our snowpack is generally stable. It's becoming increasingly rare to find weak layers of facets near the bottom of the snowpack breaking in our stability tests. Natural and human triggered slides are also rare, which, given the high volume of traffic in the backcountry last week, is a positive sign.

Generally safe avalanche conditions prevail, but as a student of the snow I know that small avalanches are still possible (photo). Snowpacks less than three feet deep have the weakest snow. Without new snow or a wind-load these slopes are mostly fine, but a quick snowpit and stability test will take the guesswork out of decision-making. The top 6 to 12 inches of our snowpack is getting weaker by the day. Cold clear nights and warmer, sunny days create faceted, weaker, unbonded snow through a process called near-surface faceting (article). The snow is not static, and unfortunately today's sunny weather creates tomorrow's weak layer. In isolated areas wind has blown thin slabs on top of these facets and it's not out of the question to trigger a small avalanche, which a skier reported doing on Saddle Peak yesterday.

Without new snow or widespread wind-loading, the snowpack is not under any stress and is enjoying a breather after the holidays, just like the rest of us. For today, throughout our entire forecast area, the Avalanche Danger is rated LOW on all slopes.


From the Sierras: Watch and Learn

When five backcountry skiers share just two beacons and shovels, this is what you end up with. Not exactly a crack team of rescuers.


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.



Avalanche Danger Scale

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Back to the Yellowstone Daily Winter Reports or the Yellowstone Weather Page

Information provided by Yellowstone National Park, National Weather Service and Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center


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