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Daily Winter Weather Report

Yellowstone National Park Winter Weather Links
Avalanche Advisory Special Weather Info
Daily Winter Weather Report Winter Road Report
Snow Depth Totals Yellowstone Weather Forecast

Date: Saturday - 19 January 2013

Station Pres Temp Max Temp Min Temp New Snow Depth Sky Present Conditions
Bechler -13.0 -8.0 -13.0 .19   SC NNE @ 1 - 2 mph
Canyon -4.4 2.5 -4.4 0 30 SC Calm
East Entrance 17.8 25.4 17.8 .03 17 SC  
Lake -11.0 -6.0 -11.0 0 31 SC Calm
Madison -9.7 -0.2 -9.7   18 SC  
Mammoth 15.4 21.6 13.1 .01 11 SC SW @ 4 - 7 mph
NE Entrance 8.2 14.5 8.2 0 16 SC  
Old Faithful -5.8 13.8 -6.9 0 29 SC S @ 1 mph
Soda Butte -7.0 3.6 -7.0 0 2.40 SC  
South Entrance -12.8 3.9 -12.8 0 32 SC  
Sylvan Lake -1.7 2.7 -2.4 0 38 SC  
Sylvan Road 7.3 23.7 7.3 0 23 SC  
Thorofare 17.0 19.0 16.0 0   SC S @ 1 - 5 mph
Thumb Divide -4.2 10.6 -4.2 0 39 SC  
Tower -2.9 6.4 -3.8 .01 7.40 SC SSW @ 2 - 3 mph
West Entrance -8.5 1.8 -8.5 0 23 SC  
T=Trace/ BC=Broken Clouds/ C=Clear/ OC=Overcast/ SC=Scattered Clouds
All Temperatures are in °F ~ All Snow Depths are in Inches

* * Live Weather via All Yellowstone WebCams * *

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

* Open year-round to wheeled vehicle travel.
YR=Year Round / NR=No Restrictions / STA=Snow Tires Advised / STR=Snow Tires Required

* NOTE: CLOSED FOR THE SEASON.

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 19, 2013
by the National Weather Service Riverton, WY

Today: Partly cloudy in the morning then clearing. Highs 23°F to 29°F.

Tonight: Mostly clear. Lows 2°F to 8°F.

Sunday: Partly cloudy. Highs 22°F to 28°F.

Sunday Night: Mostly clear. Lows 2°F to 8°F.

Monday / Martin Luther King Jr Day: Partly cloudy. Highs 25°F to 31°F.

Monday Night / Martin Luther King Jr Night: Mostly clear. Patchy fog after midnight. Lows 2°F to 10°F.

Tuesday: Mostly sunny. Patchy fog in the morning. Highs 26°F to 32°F.

Tuesday Night: Mostly clear. Patchy fog after midnight. Lows 3°F to 13°F.

Wednesday: Mostly sunny in the morning then becoming partly cloudy. Highs 28°F to 34°F.

Wednesday Night: Partly cloudy in the evening then becoming mostly cloudy. A 30 percent chance of snow. Lows 11°F to 17°F.

Thursday: Mostly cloudy with a 40 percent chance of snow. Highs 19°F to 25°F.

Thursday Night: Colder. Partly cloudy with a 20 percent chance of snow. Lows 2°F to 8°F.

Friday: Partly cloudy. Highs 20°F to 26°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 72 Parker Peak 46
Blackwater 45 Snake River Station 32
Canyon 30 Sylvan Lake 38
Evening Star 49 Sylvan Road 23
Fisher Creek 64 Thumb Divide 39
Grassy Lake 52 Two Ocean Plateau 53
Lewis Lake Divide 60 West Yellowstone 23
Madison Plateau 50 Whiskey Creek 31
Northeast Entrance 15 Wolverine 19

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Avalanche Advisory

from the Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center - January 19, 2013 - this report is by Mark Staples. This advisory does not apply to operating ski areas.

Mountain Weather

Yesterday winds were gusting 40 to 60 mph but eased some this morning blowing westerly 10 to 30 mph. A slight inversion was in place this morning with mountain temperatures near 20 degrees Fahrenheit and valley temperatures in the teens Fahrenheit and just below zero Fahrenheit near West Yellowstone. A Northwest flow at the leading edge of a ridge of high pressure may bring a few clouds over Southwest Montana today. Temperatures will climb into the high 20s and low 30s Fahrenheit, and westerly winds will blow 10 to 30 mph.

Snowpack and Avalanche Discussion:

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

Yesterday, Eric and I found the last remaining powder in the Bridger Range just north of Bridger Bowl as well as evidence of strong winds from the last few days. We also found a layer of weak, faceted snow buried 6 to 16 inches deep (snowpit1, snowpit2). A good place to trigger an avalanche is where fresh wind slabs rest on this layer. Fortunately, wind slabs are easy to see and avoid. Also, this layer does not exist on many slopes but slopes that have it shouldn't be trusted. Finally, looking for and assessing this layer can be done really quickly because it is not buried very deeply. Dig several quick snowpits no more than two feet deep. See how in this video.

Doug was skiing just south of Cooke City yesterday. Although this area mostly lacks a similar layer of facets, he looked for it because it doesn't take much time and is lurking on a few slopes.

Travel advice today is simple. Avoid fresh drifts and wind slabs, and avoid steep slopes with a layer of weak facets buried 6 to 16 inches deep. If either problem is encountered, pick a different slope or one less than 30 degrees in steepness. Each of these avalanche problems makes human triggered avalanches possible today and 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), (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.



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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