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: Patchy fog in the morning. Snow. Snow accumulation of 2 to 3 inches. Southwest winds around 15 mph in the morning. Chance of snow 80 percent. Highs 24°F to 30°F.

Tonight: Snow. Snow accumulation of 1 to 2 inches. Total snow accumulation 3 to 6 inches. Chance of snow 80 percent. Lows 4°F to 10°F.

Monday: Cloudy with a 50 percent chance of snow. Southwest winds around 15 mph late in the afternoon. Highs 14°F to 20°F.

Monday Night: Snow likely. Snow accumulation of 1 to 2 inches. Southwest winds around 15 mph. Chance of snow 60 percent. Lows 2°F to 8°F.

Tuesday: Snow likely. Snow accumulation around 2 inches. Total snow accumulation 3 to 4 inches. West winds around 15 mph. Chance of snow 70 percent. Highs 16°F to 22°F.

Tuesday Night: Cloudy with a 50 percent chance of snow. Lows 3°F to 9°F.

Wednesday: Snow likely. Heavy snow accumulations. Chance of snow 60 percent. Highs 20°F to 26°F.

Wednesday Night: Cloudy. Chance of snow in the evening...then snow likely after midnight. Light snow accumulations. Chance of snow 60 percent. Lows 10°F to 16°F.

Thursday: Cloudy with a 50 percent chance of snow. Highs 21°F to 27°F.

Thursday Night: Mostly cloudy with a 30 percent chance of snow. Lows 10°F to 16°F.

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

Friday Night: Partly cloudy with a 20 percent chance of snow. Lows 8°F to 14°F.

Saturday: Partly cloudy. Highs 24°F to 30°F.

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

Mountain Weather

Over the past 24 hours 2 to 3 inches of snow fell in the mountains around West Yellowstone and Cooke City. A trace to one inch fell in the mountains around Bozeman and Big Sky. These numbers will increase today as moisture arrives on a southwest flow. By this evening, an additional 3 to 5 inches will accumulate in the southern mountains and 2 to 4 inches will fall in the north.

This morning temperatures are in the 20s Fahrenheit and winds are blowing 5 to 15 mph from the West-southwest. Today, temperatures will climb into the upper 20s to low 30s Fahrenheit under snowy skies and winds will continue to blow 10 to 20 from the West-southwest. Snow will taper off this evening and temperatures will drop to around 10 degrees Fahrenheit. Another potent storm is scheduled to arrive Monday night into Tuesday.

Snowpack and Avalanche Discussion:

Cooke City:

The primary avalanche concern for the mountains around Cooke City will be wind loaded slopes. Yesterday, gusts up to 40 mph out of the West-southwest were recorded near Lulu Pass. Although winds have subsided this morning, yesterday's windy conditions transported snow onto leeward slopes, forming fresh wind slabs. Upper elevation terrain leeward to the predominant West-southwest winds will be the most likely to hold wind deposited snow.

Today, human triggered avalanches will be possible for skiers or riders who venture onto wind loaded slopes which have a MODERATE Avalanche Danger. Non-wind loaded slopes have a LOW Avalanche Danger.

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

Over the past 48 hours the mountains around West Yellowstone including the southern Madison Range picked up 5 to 7 inches of snow totaling .5 to .7 inches of SWE. This has not put a tremendous amount of stress on the snowpack, but has added just enough to cause concern. There are now two distinct weak layers buried in these areas (facets, surface hoar). One is a layer of near surface facets buried roughly a foot and a half blow the surface. This layer has been gaining strength, but is worth looking for and assessing before committing to steep slopes. A second concern is a layer of near surface facets and/or surface hoar that is now buried 6 to 8 inches below the surface. This layer could produce small slab avalanches on slopes steeper than 35 degrees, especially if snow continues through the day. Fortunately, this layer is not buried deep and will be easy to look for and assess.

Today, human triggered avalanches are possible on slopes steeper than 35 degrees which have a MODERATE Avalanche Danger. Less steep slopes have a LOW Avalanche Danger.

Bridger, Northern Gallatin, and Northern Madison Ranges:

The snowpack in the mountains around Bozeman and Big Sky is generally stable. Today, the primary avalanche concern will be new snow. With 2 to 4 inches possible by this afternoon, small loose snow or slab avalanche may occur in steep terrain. If you are heading into the backcountry, pay close attention to changing conditions and don't be afraid to change plans if instability is on the rise.

Today, the Avalanche Danger will start out LOW, but could rise to a MODERATE Avalanche Danger on steeper slopes if snow and wind continue through the day.

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.