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: Mostly cloudy. Scattered flurries. Highs -1°F to 5°F. Lowest wind chill readings -24°F to -34°F in the morning.

Tonight: Mostly cloudy. Lows -8°F to -14°F.

Monday: Partly cloudy in the morning then becoming mostly cloudy. A 20 percent chance of snow. West winds around 15 mph late in the afternoon. Highs 3°F to 9°F. Lowest wind chill readings -24°F to -34°F in the morning.

Monday Night: Cloudy with a 50 percent chance of snow. Lows -1°F to -9°F.

Tuesday: Not as cold. Cloudy. Chance of snow in the morning...then slight chance of snow in the afternoon. Chance of snow 40 percent. Highs 13°F to 19°F. Lowest wind chill readings -11°F to -21°F in the morning.

Tuesday Night: Partly cloudy. Lows -1°F to 7°F.

Wednesday: Not as cold. Mostly sunny. Patchy fog in the morning. Highs 20°F to 28°F.

Wednesday Night: Mostly clear. Patchy fog after midnight. Lows -1°F to 7°F.

Thursday: Mostly sunny. Patchy fog in the morning. Highs 20°F to 26°F.

Thursday Night: Mostly clear. Patchy fog after midnight. Lows 3°F to 9°F.

Friday: Mostly sunny in the morning then becoming partly cloudy. Patchy fog in the morning. Highs 20°F to 26°F.

Friday Night: Mostly clear. Patchy fog after midnight. Lows 2°F to 12°F.

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

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

Mountain Weather

Over the past 24 hours a trace to one inch of snow has fallen in the mountains. This morning temperatures are ten to fifteen degrees below zero Fahrenheit and winds are light out of the Northwest blowing 5 to 10 mph. Today, high temperatures will be in the single digits above or below zero degrees Fahrenheit under mostly cloudy skies and winds will stay light out of Northwest. A weak weather disturbance will bring light snow showers to the mountains where a trace to one inch is possible. A stronger system is forecasted to impact the area tomorrow night into Tuesday.

Snowpack and Avalanche Discussion:

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

Yesterday, Mark and I went to the Lionhead area near West Yellowstone expecting to find widespread signs of instability on the layer of facets that formed during the first week of January. After digging multiple snowpits and observing miles of avalanche terrain, it became apparent this layer gained strength and handled the most recent load surprisingly well. We did observe a few natural avalanches off the Lionhead Ridge that occurred due to wind loading, but these slides did not propagate far and stayed confined to small starting zones (photo).

However, the area we covered was only a small piece of real estate in a very large development. The Bottom Line: There is a known weak layer throughout this portion of our forecast area which now is now capped by a slab 12 to 14 inches thick (photo). I expect this layer is still capable of producing avalanches; primarily on wind load slopes or slopes steeper than 35 degrees. If you are heading into avalanche terrain pay close attention to signs of instability such as cracking and collapsing and thoroughly assess the snowpack before committing to steeper slopes.

Today, cautious route finding and conservative decision making are essential on wind loaded slopes and slopes steeper than 35 degrees which have a CONSIDERABLE Avalanche Danger. All other slopes have a MODERATE Avalanche Danger.

Bridger, Northern Gallatin, and Northern Madison Ranges, and Cooke City:

Today, the primary avalanche concern for the mountains around Bozeman and Big Sky is wind slabs. Periodic intervals of swirling and gusty winds have formed shallow but stiff slabs on isolated slopes. Yesterday, the Bridger Bowl Ski Patrol triggered wind slabs in mid-elevation terrain during control work. Skiers in the northern Gallatin and Northern Madison Ranges also found wind slabs to be the primary avalanche concern. The best bet today is to stay off steep slopes that are slabby and grabby move into areas that are softer and less wind affected.

There has been little avalanche activity in mountains around Cooke City. This can be attributed to the lack of widespread persistent weak layers. There are a few exceptions, especially in mid to lower elevation areas where the snowpack is thinner. Earlier in the week, a skier got unstable results during stability tests on a mid-elevation Southeast facing slope. This problem is not widespread, but something to consider when riding around creek beds or steep gullies. There is also the possibility a skier or rider could trigger a wind slab in upper elevation terrain.

Today, for the Mountains around Bozeman, Big Sky and Cooke City – The Avalanche Danger is rated 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.