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: Breezy. Snow likely...then chance of snow late in the afternoon. Snow accumulation of 2 to 4 inches. Total snow accumulation 2 to 5 inches. Highs 28 to 34. Southwest winds 15 to 20 mph. Chance of snow 70 percent.

Tonight: Cloudy with a 50 percent chance of snow. Lows 13 to 19. Southwest winds around 15 mph.

Tuesday: Cloudy. Chance of snow in the morning...then chance of snow and rain in the afternoon. Highs 31 to 37. Southwest winds around 15 mph early in the morning becoming southwest around 15 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation 50 percent.

Tuesday Night: Cloudy with a 40 percent chance of snow. Lows 22 to 28. Southwest winds around 15 mph in the evening.

Wednesday: Partly cloudy. Slight chance of snow in the morning. Highs 37 to 43. Southwest winds around 15 mph in the afternoon. Chance of snow 20 percent.

Wednesday Night: Partly cloudy. Lows 22 to 28.

Thursday: Partly cloudy. Highs 41 to 47.

Thursday Night: Partly cloudy in the evening then becoming mostly cloudy. A 20 percent chance of rain showers and snow showers. Lows 24 to 30.

Friday: Mostly cloudy with a 20 percent chance of snow showers and rain showers. Highs 40 to 46.

Friday Night: Mostly cloudy. Chance of snow showers and rain showers in the evening...then chance of snow showers after midnight. Lows 23 to 29. Chance of precipitation 40 percent.

Saturday: Mostly cloudy with a 30 percent chance of snow showers. Highs 36 to 42.

Saturday Night: Mostly cloudy with a 30 percent chance of snow showers. Lows 18 to 24.

Sunday: Mostly cloudy with a 30 percent chance of snow showers. Highs 34 to 40.

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

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Mountain Weather

Over the past 24 hours most areas picked up 1 to 2 inches of new snow with the exception the Bridger Range which has remained dry. This morning, temperatures are in the upper teens to mid-twenties Fahrenheit and winds are blowing 15 to 30 mph out of the West-northwest with gusts near Big Sky reaching into the 40s mph. Today, highs will climb into the upper 20s to low 30s Fahrenheit and winds will continue to blow 15 to 30 mph out of the West-northwest. A weak weather system will move across the region producing valley rain and light mountain snow. Most areas will pick up and additional 1 to 2 inches with the excepting of Cooke City which will likely see 3 to 5 inches by tomorrow morning.

Snowpack and Avalanche Discussion:

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

Today, wind loaded slopes will be the primary avalanche concern. Yesterday, a skier was caught in a small slide near Naya Nuki in the northern Bridgers. This slide appears small and harmless; however, if the skier triggered this slide in high consequence terrain the outcome could have been different (photo). A skier outside of Cooke City also found wind loaded slopes to be the primary avalanche problem. He found south and east facing slopes to be the most loaded where a few natural avalanches were observed in alpine terrain (photo). A large natural avalanche was also observed on Fan Mountain near Big Sky. The crown was 2 feet deep and 3 to 400 feet wide. The slide was likely triggered by a cornice fall. This bulls eye data indicates that wind loaded slopes are willing and able to produce avalanches.

A secondary concern is a layer of facets buried 2 to 3 feet deep (video). This layer is most prevalent in areas with a shallow snowpack. Steep slopes – specifically those with thin, rocky margins will be susceptible to human triggered avalanches. Although it's becoming increasingly difficult to trigger slides on these deeper layers, they continue to deserve respect. Evaluating snow and terrain carefully is a good way to stay out of trouble.

Today, wind loaded slopes and slopes steeper than 35 degrees have a MODERATE Avalanche Danger. Less steep, non-wind loaded slopes have a LOW Avalanche Danger. If snow and wind come in stronger than expected today – the Avalanche Danger could rise to CONSIDERABLE on steep, wind loaded slopes by this afternoon.

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.