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.

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

Today: Mostly cloudy then becoming partly cloudy in the late morning and early afternoon then becoming mostly cloudy. Scattered snow showers through the day. Scattered rain showers in the afternoon. Highs 34 to 40. West winds around 15 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation 40 percent.

Tonight: Cloudy. Scattered snow showers in the evening...then numerous snow showers after midnight. Areas of blowing snow early in the morning. Snow accumulation of 1 to 3 inches. Lows 17 to 23. Southwest winds around 15 mph. Chance of snow 70 percent.

Sunday: Windy...snow. Areas of blowing snow. Snow accumulation of 1 to 3 inches. Total snow accumulation 2 to 6 inches. Highs 22 to 28. Southwest winds 15 to 20 mph increasing to west 25 to 30 mph with gusts to around 45 mph in the afternoon. Chance of snow near 100 percent.

Sunday Night: Windy...colder. Mostly cloudy with a 50 percent chance of snow. Areas of blowing snow. Lows 4 to 10. West winds 20 to 30 mph decreasing to 15 to 20 mph after midnight.

Monday: Areas of blowing snow in the morning. Mostly cloudy with a 40 percent chance of snow. Highs 23 to 29. Southwest winds around 15 mph.

Monday Night: Areas of blowing snow in the evening. Mostly cloudy with a 20 percent chance of snow. Lows 8 to 14.

Tuesday: Mostly cloudy in the morning then becoming partly cloudy. A 20 percent chance of snow showers. Highs 30 to 36.

Tuesday Night: Cloudy with a 40 percent chance of snow showers. Lows 15 to 21.

Wednesday: Cloudy. Chance of snow showers in the morning...then chance of snow showers and rain showers in the afternoon. Highs 33 to 39. Chance of precipitation 50 percent.

Wednesday Night: Snow showers likely in the evening...then chance of snow showers after midnight. Lows 14 to 20. Chance of snow 60 percent.

Thursday: Cloudy. Snow showers likely in the morning...then chance of snow showers in the afternoon. Highs 26 to 32. Chance of snow 60 percent.

Thursday Night: Colder. Mostly cloudy. Chance of snow showers in the evening...then slight chance of snow showers after midnight. Lows 7 to 13. Chance of snow 40 percent.

Friday: Partly cloudy with a 20 percent chance of snow showers. Highs 27 to 33.

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Mountain Weather

This morning ridgetop temperatures were in the low 20s Fahrenheit. Lower elevations had temperatures in the high 20s Fahrenheit. Winds were blowing westerly at 10 to 15 mph in most areas. Today will be cooler than yesterday, and temperatures will be in the high 20s Fahrenheit to low 30s Fahrenheit with some sunshine and clouds. Winds will continue at 10 to 15 mph generally from the West. There is a chance for snow today and a better chance tonight. By tomorrow morning, 1 to 3 inches will accumulate in most areas. Snowfall will continue tomorrow.

Snowpack and Avalanche Discussion:

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

This time of year avalanche conditions can vary as much as the weather and change equally as fast. The good news is that temperatures dropped below freezing last night. These cold temperatures refroze the snow surface and will limit wet avalanches today but not eliminate this problem completely.

Yesterday, wet slab avalanches were observed on the west side of the Bridger Range (photo) and in a few places near Moonlight Basin and Big Sky. Smaller wet avalanches were observed including a few that Gallatin National Forest Snow Rangers intentionally triggered along a road in the northern Gallatin Range (video). At mid to low elevations in areas the snowpack became completely wet yesterday and only refroze at the surface this morning.

At higher elevations (roughly above 9,000 feet) the snowpack became wet in the surface layers only and refroze very well last night. These areas will have few avalanche concerns today; however, weak layers of faceted snow are still lurking in the snowpack. Eric found such a layer buried about 2 feet deep near Cooke City on a south aspect at 9,600 feet.

Today, be wary of mid to low elevation slopes where the snowpack was completely wet yesterday. Avalanches remain possible on these slopes even if the surface is frozen because deeper layers of snow may remain wet and weak. At higher elevations with a deeper, stronger, and colder snowpack, look for buried faceted layers 2 to 3 feet deep and conduct a few quick stability tests. For today the overall Avalanche Danger is rated MODERATE.

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.