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. Also, see the Avalanche Advisory posted below.

Today: Mostly cloudy. Highs 28 to 34. Southwest winds around 15 mph in the morning.

Tonight: Cloudy with a 30 percent chance of snow. Lows 14 to 20.

Friday: Mostly cloudy with a 30 percent chance of snow showers. Highs 29 to 35.

Friday Night: Mostly cloudy in the evening then becoming partly cloudy. A 30 percent chance of snow showers. Lows 16 to 22.

Saturday: Mostly sunny in the morning then becoming partly cloudy. Highs 25 to 31. North winds around 15 mph in the afternoon.

Saturday Night: Colder. Mostly clear. Lows 9 to 15.

Sunday: Mostly sunny. Highs 31 to 37.

Sunday Night: Partly cloudy. Lows 13 to 19.

Monday: Mostly cloudy. Slight chance of snow in the morning... Then slight chance of snow showers in the afternoon. Highs 30 to 36. Chance of snow 20 percent.

Monday Night: Cloudy with a 30 percent chance of snow showers. Lows 17 to 23.

Tuesday: Cloudy. Chance of snow in the morning...then chance of snow showers...possibly mixed with rain showers in the afternoon. Highs 32 to 38. Chance of precipitation 30 percent.

Tuesday Night: Cloudy with a 30 percent chance of snow showers. Lows 18 to 24.

Wednesday: Cloudy. Slight chance of snow showers in the morning... Then slight chance of rain showers and snow showers in the afternoon. Highs 35 to 41. Chance of precipitation 20 percent.

All Temperatures (Highs and Lows) are in degrees Fahrenheit (°F). All Sub Zero Temperatures are Highlighted.

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Mountain Weather

Since yesterday the mountains near West Yellowstone received 8 inches of dense snow, the mountains near Cooke City and the Southern Madison Range received 5 to 6 inches, the Bridger Range received 4 inches of very dense snow, the mountains near Big Sky received 2 to 3 inches, and the Northern Gallatin Range received 1 inch. Southwest winds increased yesterday and were averaging 10 to 20 mph this morning with gusts of 35 mph. Temperatures were in the high teens Fahrenheit.

Today the northern half of the advisory area will see more sun than the southern half. Depending on the amount of sunshine high temperatures will climb into mid 20s to low 30s Fahrenheit and steady Southwest winds will continue. More snow will come tonight and deposit 2 inches of new snow at the southern end of the advisory area.

Snowpack and Avalanche Discussion:

Bridger, Southern Gallatin, and Southern Madison Ranges, Lionhead Area near West Yellowstone, and Cooke City:

In most parts of the advisory area, snowfall since yesterday contained 0.5 – 0.8 inches of water. This snow arrived with strong Southwest winds which have transported the new snow. New snow + wind = fresh wind slabs. Skiers and riders can certainly trigger these fresh wind slabs today.

There is an additional concern: weak layers of faceted snow buried 2 to 3 feet deep. In some places like low elevations or steep rocky terrain at high elevations, the snowpack is less than 3 feet deep. In these places the facets are very weak and obvious in snowpits. A recent avalanche spotted yesterday in the Bridger Range on Sacajawea Peak occurred in a steep rocky area near the summit. In other places with a snowpack 4 to 5 feet deep or more, these facets are less obvious visually but can be found with stability tests (video). These faceted layers will be stressed by yesterday's snowfall especially near West Yellowstone which got the most snow.

For today, with new snow, wind and lurking weak layers, the Avalanche Danger is rated CONSIDERABLE.

Northern Gallatin, and Northern Madison Ranges:

The mountains south of Bozeman and near Big Sky only received 1 to 3 inches of new snow but Southwest winds have formed wind slabs which will be the main concern today. These areas also have layers of weak facets lurking in the snowpack. Skiers on Mount Blackmore yesterday spotted a recent avalanche on the east face. It broke about 35 feet wide and 2 to 3 feet deep in rocky terrain. Without much new snow, it will take the load of wind-blown snow to activate these facets today.

For today, the Avalanche Danger is rated CONSIDERABLE on all wind loaded slopes. Non wind loaded slopes have a MODERATE Avalanche Danger.

The next advisory tomorrow morning at 7:30 AM. 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.