Advisory Archive

Temperatures dropped overnight and were in the mid teens F this morning. Winds were averaging 5-15 mph from the NW with gusts of 25-40 mph. No snow fell overnight and today will be mostly sunny.  Winds will blow 10-20 mph from the W and NW, and temperatures will climb into the mid 20s F.

AVALANCHE INCIDENTS

Final reports on last weekend’s avalanche accidents are available at: http://www.mtavalanche.com/accident

A resident of Cooke City hiked into Hayden Creek yesterday and confirmed that Ole the dog survived for 4 days buried 3ft deep. He likely heard Doug and Karl walking on the debris conducting the accident investigation while he was still buried. A video was posted documenting this tale of survival.

This morning temperatures were in the 30s F and winds were averaging 15-30 mph from the W and SW gusting 35-50 mph. This morning will remain warm and windy. Clouds will move over the area and by afternoon bring cooler air which will keep temperatures in the 30s F. Winds shouldn’t ease until this evening, and some areas could receive a dusting or even an inch of snow by tomorrow morning.

AVALANCHE INCIDENTS

We have posted many photos and several videos from the two avalanche fatalities outside Cooke City. Full reports will be made public later this week.

Good news: In the avalanche in Hayden Creek south of Cooke City, a dog (a Corgi) was caught and presumed to be buried and dead. However, yesterday afternoon this dog appeared at the Antlers Lodge outside the hotel room where the victim and his wife were staying. Residents of Cooke City helped reunite this dog with its family.

Yesterday, under sunny skies, mountain temperatures hovered in the high 20s except in the Bridger Range where they hit the mid 30s.  Winds are blowing west to southwest averaging 15-20 mph with gusts hitting 30 mph.  Today will be sunny with wind speed and direction remaining the same.  Temperatures, however, will approach their record highs and near 40F in the early afternoon.

AVALANCHE INCIDENTS

We have posted many photos on our website from the two avalanche fatalities outside Cooke City.  We also have two video clips of our investigations posted:

•  Henderson Mountain avalanche involving a snowmobiler (video).
• Hayden Creek avalanche involving a skier (video).
  • Remembering Dave Gaillard on Facebook.

Full reports will be made public later this week.

Yesterday was sunny and unseasonably warm with high temperatures in the Bridger Range reaching 45F.  Other mountain areas had temperatures in the high 20s to low thirties.  Winds blew hard out of the west to southwest with gusts hitting the 50s, but have lessened overnight and will die down even further this afternoon.   Today will be more of the same: sunny and mild. This pattern of high pressure looks to stay with us through Thursday.  

A building ridge of high pressure will bring sunny and unseasonably warm conditions to southwest Montana today.  Currently mountain temperatures are in the mid twenties to low thirties with the exception of the mountains around West Yellowstone and Cooke City where temperatures are in the mid teens.  Winds are blowing 10-20 mph out of the WSW and will gradually increase to 15-30 mph by this afternoon.  Clear skies and warmer temperatures are expected through tomorrow.   

Yesterday was a beautiful sunny day, and so will today.  Without any new snowfall, mountain temperatures hovered in the single digits as winds blew out of the west to southwest at 20-30 mph with gusts of 40-60 mph seen early yesterday morning.  Today, westerly winds at 15-20 mph will continue as temperatures climb into the low twenties.  No new snow is expected for the next several days.

2011 goes out with a bang with snowfall measured in feet not inches. Since yesterday morning the mountains around Cooke City received 2 feet of snow. The mountains near West Yellowstone, the southern Madison Range, and the Bridger Range received 1 foot of new snow. Yes, that’s right the Bridgers got snow! The mountains near Big Sky and Hyalite Canyon received 6-9 inches of new snow. Strong winds continued as well and were blowing 20-40 mph this morning. They were blowing from the SW yesterday afternoon and shifted to the NW this morning. Temperatures were in the low teens F.

Snowfall ended this morning, and today skies will slowly clear allowing some sunshine. Winds will blow 15-20 mph from the WNW with gusts 30-35 mph. Temperatures may drop a bit more into the single digits F.

It snowed all day yesterday near Cooke City where an additional 12 inches of snow fell since yesterday morning. The Big Sky area and Hyalite Canyon received another 3-5 inches while further south near West Yellowstone and the Taylor Fork, the mountains received another 2-3 inches. The Bridger Range got a touch of rain yesterday and 1 inch of snow fell early this morning. Strong winds continued with gusts of 60-80 mph and steady 30-40 mph winds from the W and SW. This morning winds eased slightly and were blowing 25-40 mph from the SW. Temperatures were in the mid 20s F.

Snow was falling this morning at 4 a.m. and more will fall today and tonight. Guess which area will get the most snow? That’s right, the mountains near Cooke City will get another 16-20 inches. Mountains near West Yellowstone will get 10-12 inches, and mountains near Big Sky and south of Bozeman will get 6-8 inches. In the Bridger Range there will be a tug-of-war between snowfall and downslope winds which tend to limit snowfall. It’s hard to say who will win, but 2-4 inches should accumulate by tomorrow morning. Despite plentiful snow it may be hard to tell how much has fallen because winds will remain strong. Today they will blow steady at 15-20 mph gusting 40-60 mph from the SW. Temperatures will warm near 30 degrees F but a cold front moving over the area tonight will drop temperature into the single digits by tomorrow.

Since yesterday the mountains near Cooke City received 7-9 inches of snow and the mountains near Big Sky, the Taylor Fork and West Yellowstone received 4-5 inches. Near Bozeman, the northern Gallatin Range received 1 inch and the Bridger Range received none. All areas have temperatures near 30 degrees F and very strong winds blowing 15-30 mph from the W with gusts of 40-50 mph. Today temperatures should drop to near 20 degrees F by afternoon and strong winds will continue. A little more snow will fall this morning, then snow will return tonight and through Friday. By tomorrow morning most areas especially mountains from Big Sky south will receive 1-3 inches of snow.