Advisory Archive

At 4 a.m. it was eerily warm with the bank thermometer across the street blinking 56F. Mountain temperatures are in the upper 20s in the south and mid-30s in the north. All the local SNOTEL sites are down, so I am unable to confirm that it did not snow in the last 24 hours, although ski areas, webcams and deductive reasoning lead me to that conclusion. Winds are another story and ridgeline stations are reporting gusts from the southwest in the high 50s with averages of 30-45 mph. Today will be warm and remain windy as clouds increase with snowfall starting this afternoon. By morning I expect 1-2 inches up north and 4 inches in the south. Colder temperatures arrive with the storm and tonight they will fall into the low 20s.

MOUNTAIN WEATHER

A moist southwest flow hit the southern mountains last night. The mountains around Cooke City, West Yellowstone and Carrot Basin got 10-12 inches of dense snow with 5 inches around Big Sky and only a trace outside Bozeman. Ridgetop winds were hammering out of the west to southwest averaging 20-30 mph and gusts in the 60s. At 5 a.m. snowfall has stopped, skies are mostly cloudy and temperatures are in the mid-20s to low 30s at the ridgelines, 15 degrees warmer than normal. The next 24 hours will continue to be windy and warm with just a few scattered showers. Another pulse of snow is forecasted Wednesday and Thursday.

Snotel sites did not update overnight so I’m uncertain if it actually snowed, particularly in mountains around West Yellowstone and Cooke City. At 5 a.m. mountain temperatures are in the mid to upper 20s F and winds are blowing 15-30 mph out of W-SW with gusts in Hyalite and Big Sky reaching over 40 mph. Today, winds will remain strong out of the W-SW and temps will warm into the upper 20s to low 30s F. Skies will be cloudy as a storm system approaches from the west. Mountain snow showers will develop by this afternoon in the mountains around West Yellowstone and Cooke City. There is a slight chance for afternoon snow showers in the mountains around Big Sky, while the mountains around Bozeman will likely stay dry. By tomorrow morning the southern mountains could see 4-6 inches of new snow with Big Sky picking up 1-3 inches.

Over the past 24 hours no new snow fell in the forecast area. At 5 a.m., mountain temperatures range from the mid-teens to low 20s F under partly cloudy skies. Winds are blowing 20-30 mph out of the S-SW with gusts in Hyalite and Big Sky blowing over 40 mph. Today, temperatures will warm into the upper 20s to mid-30s F and skies will become mostly cloudy by this afternoon. Winds will continue to blow 20-30 mph out of the S-SW with ridgetop gusts reaching into the 40s. There is a slight chance for mountain snow showers this afternoon in the mountains around Cooke City and West Yellowstone, however no major accumulation is expected. 

Late last night the mountains picked up 6-9 inches of snow. Winds blew westerly at 10-20 mph with gusts of 25 mph. The storm was fast moving and skies cleared pre-dawn. Today will mostly clear with partly cloudy skies tonight. Temperatures will warm from the teens this morning into the upper 20s this afternoon with southwest to west winds blowing 10-20 mph.

Temperatures reached the high 30s and low 40s F yesterday and remained warm overnight. Winds have been out of the southwest around 20-30 mph. Wind gusts between 50 and 60 mph were recorded last night in Big Sky, Hyalite, and Cooke City. Recent precipitation is limited to one modest inch that fell Wednesday night. The mountains could receive 1-3 inches of snow tonight. Temperatures this afternoon and Saturday will be in the 20s F with overnight temperatures in the teens. Temperatures on Sunday will return to the 30s F. Wind will be out of the southwest around 20 mph and increase to 40 mph Sunday afternoon. The next chance for precipitation is Sunday night, and there are a few chances for snowfall through next week.

High pressure, sunny skies and cold temperatures have dominated our weather.  Strong east winds blew through the weekend before changing westerly where they are currently averaging 15 mph with gusts to 25 mph. Temperatures are in the single digits to teens in the mornings and warming into the 20s during the day. This will continue for the next few days with some clouds rolling through, but in general the weather is uneventful for the immediate future: seasonal temperatures, moderate westerly winds and no snow forecasted until the middle of next week.

High pressure will dominate the weather pattern this weekend and no new snow is expected. This morning a temperature inversion has set up and mountain temps are roughly 10-15 degrees warmer than the valley. At 6 a.m. mountain temperatures range between 10-15 degrees F and winds are blowing 10-20 mph out of the N-NE with stronger gusts being recorded in Hyalite and Big Sky. Today, temps will warm into the mid to upper 20s F under mostly clear skies and winds will continue to blow 5-15 mph out of the N-NE.