Yellowstone Up Close and Personal Logo © Copyright Page Makers, LLC
Yellowstone Up Close and Personal Grizzly Logo © Copyright Page Makers, LLC

Daily Winter Weather Report

Date: Thursday - 23 February 2012


Station Max Temp Min Temp Pres Temp New Snow Depth Sky Present Conditions
Canyon 26 -3 -3 5 40 BC Calm
East Entrance 34 17 17 1.5 42 OC Calm
Grant Village 17 1 17 0 44 OC Calm
Lake 32 3 5 1.5 44 BC W@6mph
Lamar 38 17 17 1 16 OC W@4-7mph
Madison 38 3 7 1 26 BC Calm
Mammoth 25 21 21 T 8 OC WNW@7-10mph
Old Faithful 34 -2 2 2 32 C W@6-13mph
Pahaska 21 17 19 T - BC Calm
Snake River 37 -3 -1 1 69 BC Calm
Soda Butte 17 13 17 T - BC Calm
Thumb Divide 17 1 17 0 49 BC Calm
Tower 40 18 19 .4 20 OC E@6-8mph / Snowing
West Entrance 35 -2 -1 0 39 C Calm
BC=Broken Clouds / C=Clear / OC=Overcast / SC=Scattered Clouds / T=Trace
All Temperatures are in °F ~ All Snow Depths are in Inches


* * * Road Conditions * * *
Road Section Status Conditions Public Access / Info
Gardiner to Mammoth YR Intermittent Snow pack & Ice Snow Tires Required
Mammoth to Tower YR Intermittent Snow pack & Ice Snow Tires Required
Tower to NE Entrance YR Intermittent Snow pack & Ice Snow Tires Required
Beartooth Highway CLOSED * CLOSED * CLOSED *
Canyon to Lake CLOSED CLOSED CLOSED
Canyon to Tower CLOSED * CLOSED * CLOSED *
Firehole Canyon Drive CLOSED CLOSED CLOSED
Grant to South Entrance Caution Low Visibility & High Drifts All oversnow vehicles
Junction to Chief Joseph Hwy CLOSED * CLOSED * CLOSED *
Lake to East Entrance CLOSED Avalanche Control CLOSED
Lake to West Thumb Open   All oversnow vehicles
Madison to Old Faithful Open   All oversnow vehicles
Madison to West Yellowstone Open   All oversnow vehicles
Mammoth to Norris Open   All oversnow vehicles
Norris to Canyon Open   All oversnow vehicles
Norris to Madison Open   All oversnow vehicles
Old Faithful to Grant Open   All oversnow vehicles

YR = Open Year Round / NR = No Restrictions

* NOTE: CLOSED FOR THE WINTER 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 23 February 2012
by the National Weather Service Riverton, Wyoming

Today...Breezy. Numerous snow showers. Snow accumulation of 1 to 2 inches. Total snow accumulation 1 to 4 inches. West winds 15 to 20 mph. Chance of snow 70 percent. Highs 20°F to 26°F.

Tonight...Mostly cloudy. Chance of snow in the evening...then slight chance of snow after midnight. West winds around 15 mph. Chance of snow 40 percent. Lows -2°F to 6°F.

Friday...Breezy. Mostly cloudy with a 20 percent chance of snow. Southwest winds 15 to 20 mph. Highs 23°F to 29°F. Lowest wind chill readings -10°F to -20°F in the morning.

Friday Night...Mostly cloudy. Slight chance of snow in the evening...then chance of snow after midnight. Southwest winds around 15 mph. Chance of snow 30 percent. Lows 8°F to 14°F.

Saturday...Chance of snow in the morning...then snow likely in the afternoon. Snow accumulation of 6 to 7 inches. Southwest winds around 15 mph shifting to the west in the afternoon. Chance of snow 70 percent. Highs 23°F to 29°F.

Saturday Night...Cloudy with a 50 percent chance of snow. Lows 6°F to 12°F.

Sunday...Mostly cloudy with a 50 percent chance of snow. Highs 19°F to 25°F.

Sunday Night...Colder. Mostly cloudy. Chance of snow in the evening...then slight chance of snow after midnight. Chance of snow 30 percent. Lows -2°F to 4°F.

Monday...Mostly cloudy with a 20 percent chance of snow. Highs 19°F to 25°F.

Monday Night...Partly cloudy with a 20 percent chance of snow. Lows -5°F to 1°F.

Tuesday...Partly cloudy. Highs 20°F to 26°F.

Tuesday Night...Partly cloudy. Lows 0°F to 6°F.

Wednesday...Partly cloudy with slight chance of snow in the morning...then mostly cloudy with chance of snow in the afternoon. Chance of snow 30 percent. Highs 23°F to 29°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 96 Parker Peak 73
Blackwater 72 Snake River Station 63
Canyon 47 Sylvan Lake 60
Evening Star 89 Sylvan Road 48
Fisher Creek 91 Thumb Divide 49
Grassy Lake 94 Two Ocean Plateau 89
Lewis Lake Divide 84 West Yellowstone 39
Madison Plateau 63 Whiskey Creek 49
Northeast Entrance 44 Wolverine 42

Avalanche Information
from the Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center - 23 February 2012 - 7:30 am - this report is by Mark Staples. This advisory does not apply to operating ski areas.

  ♦  ♦  Backcountry Avalanche Warning  ♦  ♦  

The Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center is issuing a Backcountry Avalanche Warning for the Bridger Range and the mountains around Cooke City. Heavy snowfall, extreme winds and a very weak snowpack are causing unstable conditions. Today the Avalanche Danger is HIGH on all slopes. Areas of unstable snow exist. Natural and human triggered avalanches are likely. Avalanche terrain including avalanche runout zones should be avoided.

This warning will either be terminated or updated by 6:00 AM on February 24, 2012.

  ♦  ♦  AVALANCHE FATALITY  ♦  ♦  

Yesterday a snowmobiler was killed in an avalanche along the groomed trail to Daisy Pass near Cooke City. Four people were caught in this avalanche. The victim was fully buried, two others were buried with their arms sticking out of the snow, and the fourth was buried up to his knees. There were seven riders total and all were carrying beacons, probes, and shovels. The victim was uncovered in less than ten minutes. He was caught when he got off his sled which still had its tail end on the groomed trail. Doug and Eric are investigating this avalanche today and will have more information tomorrow. All of us at the Avalanche Center send our deepest sympathies to family and friends.

Mountain Weather

In the last 24 hours the heaviest snowfall occurred in the Bridger Range and the mountains near Cooke City. Yesterday's snow was wet and heavy while snow that fell late last night had a much lower density because temperatures dropped into the low teens and single digits Fahrenheit. The exact amount of snow is hard to gauge, but the Snow Water Equivalency (SWE) is measured exactly and tells how much weight was added to the snowpack:

    • Near Cooke City 1 inch of SWE (5 to 10 inches of snow)

    • In the Bridger Range 0.5 to 0.9 inches of SWE (3 to 5 inches of snow)

    • Near Big Sky, Hyalite, and West Yellowstone 0.4 to 0.6 inches of SWE (2 to 4 inches of snow)

    • Near the Taylor Fork 0.2 inches of SWE (1 to 2 inches of snow)

Further complicating snowfall totals is yesterday's extreme winds which averaged 50 mph from the West with gusts of 60-90 mph. This morning winds were blowing 15-20 mph from the West-northwest with gusts of 40 mph. Today will be mostly cloudy with an additional 2 to 4 inches of snow falling. Temperatures will warm into the high teens Fahrenheit.

Snowpack and Avalanche Discussion:

The Bridger Range and the mountains around Cooke City:

In the last 72 hours almost 3 inches of snow water equivalent has fallen in the Bridger Range and the mountains around Cooke City. This is a lot of weight for the snowpack to support. Yesterday's extreme winds made the situation worse. The snowpack contains weak layers that produced avalanches prior to and at the onset of this storm. More avalanches will occur today. Avalanches, like yesterday's fatal slide, will occur in areas that do not often see avalanches because the extreme winds loaded many slopes that typically do not receive wind drifted snow. One avalanche occurred on "Town Hill" just above Cooke City. It was skier triggered and broke 2 feet deep and 300 feet wide. In the Bridger Range, one natural avalanche occurred just north of Bridger Bowl in a popular spot called Peter's Pinnacle.

Many slides near Cooke City are breaking on a layer of near surface facets found on all slopes. In the Bridger Range, avalanches will break on a similar layer but quickly step down to weak snow near the ground and produce very large avalanches. Today the Avalanche Danger is HIGH on all slopes. Avoid avalanche terrain including avalanche run out zones.

The Gallatin and Madison Ranges and the Lionhead area near West Yellowstone:

The Gallatin and Madison Ranges and the Lionhead area near West Yellowstone have unstable conditions in most places as well. There have been many recent avalanches before yesterday (see photos of many recent slides on the Avalanche Page link here and a video from a slide in Beehive Basin). With more snow overnight and yesterday's extreme winds, more avalanches will occur today.

In some places signs of instability are not obvious due to very warm temperatures at lower elevations. During a tour up Flanders drainage in Hyalite Canyon yesterday, Eric found stable conditions early in his tour at lower elevations, but conditions quickly became unstable as he climbed higher. He experienced collapsing and cracking and got unstable results in stability tests. Another skier saw many recent natural avalanches in the upper bowls of Hyalite. Guides near West Yellowstone reported poor visibility but did see one recent avalanche. For today, the Avalanche Danger is HIGH on any wind loaded slope, and CONSIDERABLE Avalanche Danger exists on non-wind loaded slopes. These danger ratings mean human triggered avalanches are likely on any slope over 30 degrees. Avalanches can also be triggered from low angle slopes under or next to steeper slopes.

For Photos, Videos and other Information related to this report, please visit the Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center.

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.

Beacon Parks

The Friends of the Avalanche Center installed a Beacon Training Park outside West Yellowstone. It's located south of town on the main snowmobile trail. Stop by and do a quick practice before heading off into the mountains!


EDUCATION, EVENTS, PHOTOS, SNOWPITS, and VIDEOS

1. We've recently uploaded more photos and snowpits to our web site, more than what are linked in the advisory.

2. We're creating a series of "How To…" stability test videos. So far we've got clips on performing a CT and ECT. There are located under Stability Tests on the Resources page.

3. Check out all our education programs, Click Here.

Information provided by Doug Chabot, Mark Staples, and Eric Knoff from the Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center. For Events and Education, or 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.


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


Yellowstone National Park by Page Makers, LLC © Copyright All Rights Reserved
I n d e x
Accessibility Earthquakes Maps Video Page
Address Email Newspaper Visitor Centers
Adult Programs Entrances Old Faithful Live WebCam Visitor Stats
Amphibians Entrance Fees Pets Volcano Observatory
Animals Fall Closure Phone Numbers Waterfalls
Backcountry Fish Picnic Areas Weather
Bear Management Fishing Fees Ranger Led Activities WebCams
Bear Sightings Fishing Regulations Reptiles Wildflowers
Biking Getting Here Reunions Winter Closing
Boating Hiking Rivers, Creeks & Streams Winter Opening
Books History Roads Winter Weather Reports
Butterflies Junior Ranger Program Schedule Wolf Project
Camping Lakes Search Page Wolf Sightings
Campground Maps Location Spring Opening Wolverine Help
Challenges Lodging Star Talks Yellowstone ~ the Name
Chat Page Lynx Help Trip Planner pdf Young Scientist
Clinics / Medical Mammal List Trip Reports Youth Conservation Corps
Not all who wander are lost by John Ronald Reuel Tolkien © Page Makers, LLC
Yellowstone National Park WebCams
Old Faithful Live All Old Faithful Old Faithful Static Old Faithful VC North Entrance Mt Washburn Mammoth YVO WebCam

Rexburg Idaho WebCams
  Rexburg, Idaho WebCams  

Yellowstone Area Highway WebCams
Alpine Junction Hwy 89 (South) Monida Pass I-15 (North)
Bozeman Pass I-90 (North) Osborne Bridge Hwy 20 (West)
Henry's Lake North Hwy 20 (West) Raynolds Pass MT 87 (North or West)
Henry's Lake South Hwy 20 (West) Teton Pass WY 22 (South)
(North) = Closest Entrance to Yellowstone National Park.

State Road Reports
Idaho Utah
Montana Wyoming

Entrance Cities and Gateway Towns
Gardiner, Montana Silver Gate, Montana West Yellowstone, Montana Cooke City, Montana
Livingston, Montana Cody, Wyoming Jackson Hole, Wyoming Yellowstone National Park

Links
The Great Outdoors Net Great Outdoor Recreational Places
Gardiner, Montana World Humanity

Contact Us

by John William Uhler

Back to: Yellowstone Up Close and Personal

Copyright © 1995 - 2014 Page Makers, LLC and Yellowstone Media ~ All Rights Reserved