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Daily Winter Weather Report

Date: Sunday - February 27, 2011


Station Max Temp Min Temp Pres Temp New Snow Depth Sky Present Conditions
Canyon 14 -26 -6 T 47 - Calm / clear
East Entrance 18 8 0 0 43 SC W@5mph
Grant Village 16 -5 0 1 55 - Calm / clear
Lake 17 -5 6 T 52 - Calm / clear
Lamar 23 -9 7 0 24 SC Calm
Madison 18 9 9 0 35 SC Calm
Mammoth 20 0 10 0 19 - S@5-7mph
Old Faithful 15 -6 5 0 40 - Calm / clear
Pahaska 22 11 11 T 45 SC Calm
Snake River 21 -1 -1 T 60 SC Calm
Soda Butte 23 -9 7 0 24 SC Calm
Thumb Divide 17 3 3 0 59 SC Calm
Tower 23 -14 2 T 31 SC S@2-4mph
West Entrance 17 -5 2 .5 49 SC Calm
T=Trace / BC=Broken Clouds / OC=Overcast / SC=Scattered Clouds
All Temperatures are in °F ~ All Snow Depths are in Inches


* * * Road Conditions * * *
Road Section Status Conditions Public Access / Info
Gardiner to Mammoth YR Good STR
Mammoth to Tower YR Good STR
Tower to NE Entrance YR Fair STR
Beartooth Highway CLOSED * CLOSED * CLOSED *
Canyon to Lake Open Fair Oversnow
Firehole Canyon Drive Open - Oversnow - Snowcoaches only in the morning
Grant to South Entrance Open Good Oversnow
Junction to Chief Joseph Hwy CLOSED * CLOSED * CLOSED *
Lake to East Entrance Open Fair Oversnow
Lake to West Thumb Open Fair Oversnow
Madison to Old Faithful Open Good Oversnow
Madison to West Yellowstone Open Good Oversnow
Mammoth to Norris Open Good Oversnow
Norris to Canyon Open Good Oversnow
Norris to Madison Open Good Oversnow
Old Faithful to Grant Open Good Oversnow

YR=Year Round / NR=No Restrictions / STA=Snow Tires Advised / STR=Snow Tires Required

* NOTE: CLOSED FOR THE SEASON.

# Poor road conditions - bare spots and melting snow - Restricted to Snowcoaches Only.

The park service plowing schedule for roads for the spring season.

******** FOR CURRENT ROAD INFORMATION PLEASE CALL 307-344-2117 ********

 SPECIAL INFORMATION

Yellowstone Seven Day Forecast on February 27, 2011
by the National Weather Service Riverton, WY

Today...Breezy. Mostly cloudy. Slight chance of snow in the morning...then chance of snow in the afternoon. Highs 17°F to 23°F. Southwest winds 15 to 20 mph. Chance of snow 40 percent. Lowest wind chill readings -16°F to -26°F in the morning.

Tonight...Windy. Cloudy with a 50 percent chance of snow. Areas of blowing snow. Lows 0°F to 6°F. Southwest winds 20 to 30 mph.

Monday...Windy. Cloudy with a 40 percent chance of snow. Areas of blowing snow. Highs 24°F to 30°F. Southwest winds 20 to 30 mph increasing to 30 to 35 mph late in the afternoon. Gusts up to 45 mph until late afternoon.

Monday Night...Windy. Cloudy with a 50 percent chance of snow. Areas of blowing snow. Lows 10°F to 16°F. Southwest winds 20 to 30 mph with gusts to around 45 mph.

Tuesday...Breezy. Cloudy with a 50 percent chance of snow. Highs 26°F to 32°F. Southwest winds 15 to 20 mph.

Tuesday Night...Breezy. Mostly cloudy with a 40 percent chance of snow. Lows 12°F to 18°F.

Wednesday...Mostly cloudy with a 40 percent chance of snow. Highs 30°F to 36°F.

Wednesday Night...Cloudy with a 50 percent chance of snow. Lows 15°F to 21°F.

Thursday...Cloudy with a 50 percent chance of snow. Highs 28°F to 34°F.

Thursday Night...Colder. Snow likely. Lows 8°F to 14°F. Chance of snow 60 percent.

Friday...Mostly cloudy with a 50 percent chance of snow. Highs 24°F to 30°F.

Friday Night...Mostly cloudy with a 30 percent chance of snow. Lows 9°F to 15°F.

Saturday...Mostly cloudy with a 40 percent chance of snow. Highs 26°F to 32°F.

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

* * * Snow Depth Totals as reported at SNOTELs * * *
Station Depth (inches) Station Depth (inches)
Black Bear 112 Parker Peak 86
Blackwater 66 Snake River Station -
Canyon 50 Sylvan Lake 66
Evening Star 81 Sylvan Road 51
Fisher Creek 97 Thumb Divide 59
Grassy Lake 98 Two Ocean Plateau -
Lewis Lake Divide 91 West Yellowstone 48
Madison Plateau 77 Whiskey Creek 58
Northeast Entrance 40 Wolverine 41

Avalanche Information
from the Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center - February 27, 2011 - this report is by Eric Knoff. This advisory does not apply to operating ski areas.

Mountain Weather

Overnight a trace of new snow fell in the mountains south of Bozeman. Currently, mountain temperatures are ranging from the single digits above or below zero with Shower Falls Snotel site in the northern Gallatin Range being the warm spot at 13°F. Winds have calmed since yesterday afternoon and are now blowing 10-20 mph out of the West-NorthWest with a few gust reaching into the 30's. Today, a westerly flow will keep skies partly to mostly cloudy producing a slight chance of mountain snow showers this afternoon. Temperatures will warm into the 20's and winds will stay out of the west at 10-20 mph. 2 to 3 inches of new snow is possible by tomorrow morning.

Snowpack and Avalanche Discussion:

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

Over the past 24 hours strong west winds have raked the mountains of our advisory area. Although winds have decreased this morning, the damage has been done. Yesterday, I skied north of Bridger Bowl and encountered punchy, grabby and hollow conditions. It was a guessing game as to whether or not slabs would break and move as we skied across them. My partner and I observed recent activity along the ridgelines and also found cross loading and slabby conditions at mid to lower elevations. Slabs were relatively hard and had a magic carpet quality; they could pick you up and take you places you didn't want to go. The Big Sky Ski Patrol also found touchy wind slabs on all aspects of the upper mountain.

Dense wind slabs can be tricky to evaluate. Some will be reactive to the weight of a skier or rider while others will stay put. As these slabs have more time to adjust, they will become increasingly stubborn. This does not mean they should be trusted. Hard slabs have a tendency to fracture once you are on them, making for a potentially unmanageable and dangerous situation. Staying alert and avoiding smooth drifts and large wind rolls will be the best way to avoid triggering a slide. A related problem is the growth of cornices. It's hard to know when these overhanging beasts have reached their breaking point, but when they do, falling cornices make good triggers for avalanches.

Today:

- Wind loaded slopes steeper than 35 degrees have a CONSIDERABLE Avalanche Danger.

- Less steep wind loaded slopes have a MODERATE Avalanche Danger.

- Non-wind loaded slopes steeper than 35 degrees have MODERATE Avalanche Danger.

- Less steep non-wind loaded slopes have a LOW Avalanche Danger.


New Snowpits Page

In response to our survey we added a new page to the website with images of our snowpit profiles. This page is under the Resources/Other Info tab at http://fsavalanche.org/Encyclopedia/snowpit.htm

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.


West Yellowstone: Beacon Park Operational

Skiing or riding near West Yellowstone? Test your beacon skills at a beacon park near the old airport where you can search for pre-placed beacons switched on/off by a control panel. Look for it by orange snow fence and signage just south of the snow cross track.

Backcountry Skier Survey – Researchers at Alaska Pacific University are studying decision making in backcountry skiers and would like to get information from you. If interested in this 10-15 minute survey, go to this website: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/SE_AK_Backcountry_Skiing_Research.


Upcoming Events

3rd Annual Montana Ale Works Fundraiser

When & Where: March 1, Tuesday at 6:00 p.m. in the Railcar.

Cost: $20 to benefit the Friends of the Avalanche Center

Details: Chef Roth at Montana Ale Works is creating tapas style servings that will be paired with select beer from Lone Peak Brewery. More information HERE.

Pinhead Classic

The 30th Annual Pinhead Classic on is Saturday, March 5th. "Gangsters and Flappers" is this year's costume theme, so come dressed up to race, socialize and wind great prizes. Registration is $30 but get you all sorts of cool stuff. All proceeds benefit the Friends of the Avalanche Center. Check out the website http://pinheadclassic.com for details.

Avalanche Danger Scale

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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