Advisory Archive

Overnight the mountains near Big Sky, West Yellowstone and Cooke City picked up 4-5 inches of low density snow. Currently, temperatures range from the single digits to mid-teens F and winds are blowing 15-35 mph out of W-SW. Today, snow will continue in the mountains south of Bozeman with 2-4 inches possible during the day. The mountains around Bozeman could see 1-2 inches. Temperatures will warm into the 20s F and winds will continue to blow 15-35 out of the W-SW. Moisture will continue to be ushered into the area on a westerly flow, producing more snow tonight and tomorrow. The mountains south of Bozeman could see an additional 4-6 inches tonight while the Bridger Range should see 2-3 inches.  

Over the past 24 hours the mountains picked up 6-10 inches of new snow. At 4 a.m. snow has stopped falling and temperatures range from the single digits to mid-teens F. Winds are blowing 5-15 mph out of the W-SW-NW.  Today, southwest Montana will see a break in the weather. Skies will be partly to mostly cloudy and temperatures will warm into the upper teens to low 20s F. Winds will continue to blow 5-15 mph out of W-SW. There is a slight chance of snow showers in the mountains around West Yellowstone and Cooke City today, but no real accumulation is expected. A weak storm system moves into the area tonight bringing a better chance of snow to the mountains south of Bozeman. The mountains around Big Sky, Cooke City and West Yellowstone should see 2-4 inches by tomorrow morning while the Bridger Range will likely see 1-2 inches.

At 4 a.m. mountain temperatures are in the 20s F. Since yesterday morning, the mountains around Bozeman received 3-4” of snow, and the mountains near Big Sky and West Yellowstone received 6-8”. SNOTEL data is still lagging, but reports of heavy snow in Cooke City suggest close to a foot of snow fell in the mountains. Overnight, southwest winds reached gusts of 50-60 mph, except in the Bridger Range where gusts reached 30 mph. Today, temperatures will be near 30 F and will cool to the 20s F this afternoon. Wind will continue to blow 30-40 mph out of the southwest. Snowfall will begin this afternoon, and I expect 5-7” by morning.

The mountains have received 2-4” of low density snow since yesterday. In the last 24 hours, winds have been around 20 mph out of the southwest with gusts between 30 and 40 mph. Temperatures are increasing this morning from yesterday’s frigid single digits and below zero values. Today, temperatures will reach the high 20s F. Wind will remain out of the west around 20-30 mph with gusts upward of 40 mph. Light snowfall will continue with an additional 1-2” today. I expect another 3-6” of snow Saturday afternoon.

At 5 a.m. mountain temperatures are near or below zero degrees F. Winds are westerly around 15 mph, and 3-4” of snow fell overnight. In the last 24 hours the Bridger Range received 16” of low density snow, and other areas received 6-8”. Today will be cold and mostly clear with temperatures reaching the low teens F. Wind will continue out of the west at 15-20 mph with speed increasing tonight. The southern areas will receive light snow this evening, and more snow is expected throughout the mountains this weekend.

At 6 a.m. there are 1-2 inches of new snow in the mountains with westerly winds blowing 10-15 mph.  The exception is the Bridger Range where 6 inches has fallen and winds are 25-30 mph at the ridgetop. Today will be cloudy and snowy as an energetic air mass drops in from Canada. In the next 24 hours winds will remain the same and temperatures will warm into the teens. By tomorrow morning I expect 4-6 inches in the mountains with double that in the Bridger Range.  Cough, cough. “I think I’m getting sick. I might not make it to work tomorrow.”

Clearing skies this morning signal the end of the storm.  Snowfall amounts in the valleys equal the mountains which is not common. Storm totals are 8 -12 inches with 3-6 inches of that falling in the last 24 hours. Winds were light from the east to northeast during the storm but switched to the northwest at 10-20 mph. Mountain temperatures are in the single digits with -1F outside Cooke City. Today will be partly cloudy and turn mostly cloudy tonight with light west to northwest winds. A small disturbance will drop in from Canada bringing 1-2 inches of new snow by morning. The weather models are lining up for a potential Bridger Bowl storm later today, but my Magic 8 ball says, “Cannot predict now”, which shakes my confidence.

The well-advertised winter storm has finally arrived. Unfortunately, Snotel sites are still down and we don’t have access to snow totals in the mountains around West Yellowstone and Cooke City. Ski resort weather stations are still working and Big Sky is reporting 7-9 inches on new snow over the past 24 hours while Bridger Bowl is reporting close to 5 inches. Looking at some webcams it doesn’t appear that the mountains around Cooke City and West Yellowstone received any more snow than the ski resorts.

At 4 a.m., mountain temperatures are in the low to mid 20s F and winds are blowing 5-15 mph. In the Bridger Range winds appear to be coming out of the E-NE while in the mountains south of Bozeman winds are blowing more out of the S-SE.  Either way, east winds rarely equate to heavy snowfall so I’m a bit pessimistic as to how much more snow will actually accumulate. The National Weather Service is forecasting 2-4 inches today and 2-4 inches tonight over the advisory area. Along with falling snow, temperatures will drop throughout the day and will be in the teens by this evening. Winds will remain light to moderate out of the E,NE and SE.

At 5 a.m. a trace to one inch of new has fallen in the mountains around Big Sky and West Yellowstone. Temperatures range from the mid-teens to low 20s F and winds are blowing 15-30 mph out of the W-SW with gusts near 50 mph being recorded around Big Sky. Today will be a transition day as a strong winter storm moves into the area. Moderate to strong W-SW winds will continue to impact the area and temperatures will warm into the mid to upper 20s F. Light snow will begin to fall by late morning and will increase as the day progresses. The mountains will likely see 1-3 inches of new snow by this evening. Snowfall increases tonight with another 4-6 inches possible by tomorrow morning. Snow will continue tomorrow with another 4-6 inches possible during the day. This storm has the potential to dump a foot or more by Tuesday morning.