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.

Today: Partly cloudy with scattered flurries in the morning...then mostly cloudy with slight chance of snow in the afternoon. Chance of snow 20 percent. Highs 2°F to 8°F. Lowest wind chill readings -23°F to -33°F in the morning.

Tonight: Mostly cloudy with a 20 percent chance of snow. Lows -7°F to -13°F.

Sunday: Mostly cloudy. Highs 3°F to 9°F. Lowest wind chill readings -19°F to -29°F in the morning.

Sunday Night: Mostly cloudy. Lows -9°Fto -15°F.

Monday: Mostly cloudy with a 20 percent chance of snow. West winds around 15 mph in the afternoon. Highs 4°F to 10°F. Lowest wind chill readings -24°F to -34°F in the morning.

Monday Night: Mostly cloudy with a 40 percent chance of snow. Lows -6°F to 2°F.

Tuesday: Not as cold. Cloudy. Chance of snow in the morning...then slight chance of snow in the afternoon. Chance of snow 30 percent. Highs 14°F to 20°F. Lowest wind chill readings -14°F to -24°F in the morning.

Tuesday Night: Mostly cloudy in the evening then becoming partly cloudy. Lows 0°F to 8°F.

Wednesday: Mostly sunny. Highs 21°F to 27°F.

Wednesday Night: Mostly clear in the evening then becoming partly cloudy. Lows 2°F to 10°F.

Thursday: Mostly sunny. Highs 20°F to 26°F.

Thursday Night: Partly cloudy. Lows 4°F to 10°F.

Friday: Partly cloudy. Highs 20°F to 26°F.

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

Mountain Weather

Over the past 24 hours the mountains picked up a trace to one inch of snow. Temperatures this morning are ranging from five to fifteen below zero Fahrenheit and winds are light out of the Northwest blowing 5 to 10 mph. Today, skies will be mostly clear in the morning but will become partly to mostly cloudy by this afternoon. Temperatures will remain cold with highs climbing into the single digits above zero Fahrenheit and winds will remain light out of the Northwest. Light snow showers could develop late this evening, but no real accumulations are expected. Temperatures will gradually start to warm up by Monday.

Snowpack and Avalanche Discussion:

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

The avalanche warning has expired, but a dangerous avalanche situation remains. A weak layer of facets that formed during the first week of January is now buried under 12 to 14 inches of new snow. This fragile weak layer produced unstable results in stability tests on Thursday (video) and will be unable to support the weight of a skier or rider today. For this reason, human triggered avalanches remain very likely on wind loaded slopes and slopes steeper than 35 degrees which have a HIGH Avalanche Danger. All other slopes have a CONSIDERABLE Avalanche Danger.

A Game Changer:

Prior to the most recent storm, stability was good and riding in avalanche terrain was not as dangerous. Now - stability has decreased dramatically and riding in avalanche terrain is serious business. It's important to note - slopes that were safe a week ago will not be safe today. Be conservative in your decision making and don't be lured onto a steep and unstable slope by untracked power.

Cooke City:

Since the beginning of the week the mountains near Cooke City have received 14 inches of snow. This area mostly lacks a weak layer of faceted crystals under the new snow which is helping overall stability. There are exceptions especially in lower elevation areas like Town Hill and I expect this layer can be found on isolated slopes in the alpine as well.

Today, the primary avalanche concern for the mountains around Cooke City will be wind slabs. Yesterday, strong winds from the West-northwest transported snow onto leeward slopes. In some areas wind deposited snow could be resting over lower density or faceted snow. This combination is a good recipe for human triggered avalanches. Pay close attention to signs of instability such as cracking and collapsing and digging a snowpit in the area you plan to ride is highly recommended.

Today, human triggered avalanches are likely on wind loaded slopes which have a CONSIDERABLE Avalanche Danger. Non-wind loaded slopes have a MODERATE Avalanche Danger.

Bridger, and Northern Gallatin, and North Madison Ranges:

The mountains near Bozeman and Big Sky received 4 to 5 inches of low density snow over the past few days. These areas also have a weak layer of facets that formed during the first week of January (video), but the latest round of snow did not add a significant amount stress to this layer. Additionally, strong winds earlier in the week made the distribution of this weak layer somewhat random, and it does not exist on all slopes. Yesterday, I toured into Beehive Basin and found the new snow bonded well to old snow surfaces that were not faceted. Slopes that did have facets near the surface produced unstable results during stability tests, but the load was not significant enough to increase the avalanche danger.

Today, human triggered avalanches are possible and the Avalanche Danger is MODERATE.

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) 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.