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Daily Winter Weather Report

Date: Friday - 15 March 2013

Yellowstone National Park Winter Weather Links
Avalanche Advisory Special Weather Info
Daily Winter Weather Report Winter Road Report
Snow Depth Totals Yellowstone Weather Forecast


Station Pres Temp Max Temp Min Temp New Snow Depth Sky Present Conditions
Bechler 30.0 31.0 30.0 0   OC Gust NNE @ 2 mph
Canyon 32.0 36.3 32.0 0 39 OC  
East Entrance 38.5 45.2 36.4 0   OC  
Lake 28.0 28.9 28.0 0   OC Calm
Madison 30.0 41.4 30.0     OC  
Mammoth 43.8 45.7 42.0 0   OC SW @ 9 - 13 mph
NE Entrance 40.1 45.5 40.1 0 23 OC  
Old Faithful 37.8 42.2 37.8 0 22 OC SSW @ 2 - 5 mph
Soda Butte 31.9 42.2 31.7 0   OC  
South Entrance 27.3 31.4 26.5 0 - OC  
Sylvan Lake 37.8 38.3 37.4 .20 48 OC  
Sylvan Road 34.0 36.1 33.6 0 27 OC  
Thorofare 36.0 39.0 36.0 0   OC W @ 4 - 10 mph
Thumb Divide 35.4 39.9 35.4 0 44 OC  
Tower 34.8 36.3 33.3 0   OC SSW @ 2 - 3 mph
West Entrance 40.1 40.8 40.1 0 31 OC  
BC=Broken Clouds / C=Clear / OC= Overcast/ SC=Scattered Clouds
All Temperatures are in degrees Fahrenheit (°F) ~ All Snow Depths are in Inches

* * Live Weather via All Yellowstone WebCams * *

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* * * Road Conditions * * *
Road Section Status Conditions Public Access / Info
Gardiner, MT to Mammoth Open * Good NR - Not Maintained from 4:30 PM to 6:30 AM
Mammoth to Tower Junction Open * Good STR - Not Maintained from 4:30 PM to 6:30 AM
Tower Junction to NE Entrance Open * Good STR - Not Maintained from 4:30 PM to 6:30 AM
Beartooth Highway CLOSED CLOSED CLOSED
Canyon to Lake CLOSED CLOSED CLOSED
Canyon to Tower CLOSED CLOSED CLOSED ♦    (over Dunraven Pass)
Fishing Bridge to East Entrance CLOSED CLOSED CLOSED
Junction to Chief Joseph Hwy CLOSED CLOSED CLOSED
Madison to Old Faithful Open   Rubber tracked oversnow concession vehicles
Madison to West Yellowstone Open   Rubber tracked oversnow concession vehicles
Mammoth to Norris CLOSED CLOSED CLOSED
Norris to Canyon CLOSED CLOSED CLOSED
Norris to Madison CLOSED CLOSED CLOSED
Old Faithful to West Thumb Open   Rubber tracked oversnow concession vehicles
West Thumb to Fishing Bridge Open   Rubber tracked oversnow concession vehicles
West Thumb to South Entrance Open   Rubber tracked oversnow concession vehicles

* = Open year-round to wheeled vehicle travel.
NR=No Restrictions / STA=Snow Tires Advised / STR=Snow Tires Required

♦ =  CLOSED FOR THE WINTER SEASON

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

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


¤ ¤ - Please Note - ¤ ¤
There is NO wheeled vehicle travel East of Cooke City, Montana during the winter. This road (U.S. Highway 212), is Closed to Wheeled Vehicle Travel to the East as it is NOT plowed or maintained until late spring. In order to exit Silver Gate, Montana, or Cooke City, Montana, and Yellowstone, you must travel West back through Yellowstone to the North Entrance at Gardiner, Montana to exit the park and these towns.

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SPECIAL INFORMATION

    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.

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Yellowstone Seven Day Forecast on March 15, 2013
by the National Weather Service Riverton, Wyoming

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

Today: Breezy. Mostly cloudy. Occasional flurries in the morning. Isolated rain showers in the late morning and afternoon. Isolated snow showers in the afternoon. Highs 39 to 45. Southwest winds 15 to 20 mph. Chance of precipitation 20 percent.

Tonight: Mostly cloudy. Isolated rain showers and snow showers early in the evening...then scattered snow showers late in the evening. Isolated snow showers after midnight. Lows 20 to 26. Chance of precipitation 40 percent.

Saturday: Mostly cloudy. Scattered snow showers in the morning... Then scattered snow showers and rain showers in the afternoon. Highs 33 to 39. Southwest winds around 15 mph late in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation 40 percent.

Saturday Night: Scattered snow showers in the evening...then numerous snow showers after midnight. Snow accumulation of 1 to 2 inches. Lows 18 to 24. Southwest winds around 15 mph. Chance of snow 70 percent.

Sunday: Breezy. Snow likely. Snow accumulation of 3 to 5 inches. Total snow accumulation 4 to 7 inches. Highs 22 to 28. West winds 15 to 20 mph. Chance of snow 70 percent.

Sunday Night: Breezy...colder. Mostly cloudy with a 50 percent chance of snow. Lows 5 to 11.

Monday: Mostly cloudy with a 30 percent chance of snow showers. Highs 24 to 30.

Monday Night: Mostly cloudy. Chance of snow showers in the evening...then slight chance of snow showers after midnight. Lows 10 to 16. Chance of snow 30 percent.

Tuesday: Mostly cloudy. Chance of snow showers in the morning... Then chance of snow showers and rain showers in the afternoon. Highs 31 to 37. Chance of precipitation 40 percent.

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

Wednesday: Mostly cloudy. Chance of snow showers in the morning... Then chance of snow showers and rain showers in the afternoon. Highs 32 to 38. Chance of precipitation 50 percent.

Wednesday Night: Mostly cloudy with a 50 percent chance of snow showers. Lows 15 to 21.

Thursday: Mostly cloudy with a 40 percent chance of snow showers. Highs 27 to 33.

Snowflake Hazardous Weather Forecast Snowflake Yellowstone & Grand Teton Forecasts Snowflake Gibbon Falls Forecast Snowflake Mammoth Forecast Snowflake Midway Forecast Snowflake Norris Forecast Snowflake Old Faithful Forecast Snowflake

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* * * Snow Depth Totals as reported at SNOTELs * * *
Station Depth (inches) Station Depth (inches)
Black Bear 93 Parker Peak 58
Blackwater 59 South Entrance -
Canyon 39 Sylvan Lake 48
Evening Star 67 Sylvan Road 27
Fisher Creek 80 Thumb Divide 44
Grassy Lake 69 Two Ocean Plateau 67
Lewis Lake Divide - West Yellowstone 31
Madison Plateau 61 Whiskey Creek 40
Northeast Entrance 23 Wolverine 26

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Avalanche Advisory

from the Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center - March 15, 2013 - this report is by Mark Staples. This advisory Does Not Apply to operating ski areas.

Mountain Weather

This morning mountain temperatures were near 32 degrees Fahrenheit at ridgetops and near 40 degrees Fahrenheit at lower elevations. Winds were blowing 15 to 20 mph from the West-southwest and gusting to 35 mph. Today's exact temperatures will be a factor of cold air pushing south at 10,000 feet, warm air in places at 5,000 feet, and a mix of sun and clouds. Overall high temperatures will be in the 40s Fahrenheit. There will be a small chance for some snow or rain. Fortunately cold air will arrive tomorrow followed by snow and even colder air on Sunday.

Snowpack and Avalanche Discussion:

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

Wet snow avalanches are the problem today.

    1. Wet avalanches were observed near Cooke City and near West Yellowstone by Hebgen and Quake Lakes even on north facing terrain.

    2. Many places have not seen below freezing air temperatures for 24 to 48 hours.

    3. Cloudy skies prevented nighttime radiation cooling of the snow.

    4. Ski patrollers at Big Sky and Moonlight Basin reported areas with isothermal conditions which mean the temperature is 32 degrees Fahrenheit throughout the snowpack. Snow begins to melt and lose strength at this temperature.

Some of the weakest and most faceted snow exists at mid-low elevations where temperatures have been the warmest. When liquid water percolates through the snowpack to buried layers of facets and depth hoar, the result is wet avalanches breaking near the ground. At higher elevations where the snowpack is deeper, wet avalanches may be smaller and confined to surface layers of snow.

Either way, be especially watchful of slopes that receive any amount of rain or direct sunshine. Also, watch out for big cornices which tend to break on their own during warm weather.

Because this is the first major warm-up of the season, the snowpack is experiencing rapid change and dangerous avalanche conditions exist. For this reason the Avalanche Danger is rated CONSIDERABLE. Wet snow avalanches are especially scary because they act like fast moving slugs of cement.

Ice Climbers: It has been a while since most ice climbs have had any avalanche concerns. This will change today. Even very small wet avalanches have a lot of mass and can easily push you off the ice.

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.



Avalanche Danger Scale

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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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