Good morning. This is Ian Hoyer with the Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Forecast on Sunday, April 10th at 7:00 a.m. This is our 122nd and final daily forecast of the season. Today's forecast is made possible by you, the readers of our advisory, everyone that sent in observations, took an avalanche class or donated money, time or gear. Our success is directly related to support from our community and the Forest Service. Thank you for another great season. This forecast does not apply to operating ski areas.
There is no new snow this morning. Winds are 10-15 mph out of the northwest and west with gusts to 30 mph. Temperatures are in the single digits and teens F. High temperatures will be in the 20s to low 30s F with partly sunny skies. Snow showers this afternoon won’t bring any significant accumulation. Moderate westerly winds will continue today. Snowfall tonight will bring a trace to 3” by tomorrow morning.
All Regions
Large avalanches are unlikely today. However, the possibility of triggering a slide can’t be totally ruled out, especially on high elevation shady slopes with wind drifted snow from the past week. On these slopes where the snowpack has remained dry, watch for slabs of drifted snow that formed earlier in the week (photo, photo, photo) and dig down to look for weak snow buried 1-3 feet deep. Even a small avalanche can have nasty consequences, so if you do find a cracking drift or get an unstable test result, just find a different slope to ride. There are plenty of slopes to ride that don’t harbor any instabilities.
Cold temperatures have refrozen the snowpack and made wet avalanches unlikely. With below freezing temperatures even direct sunshine won’t warm the surface enough to make wet snow an issue today.
Keep using safe travel protocols in case you do find an isolated pocket of instability. Always carry rescue gear (avalanche beacon, shovel, and probe). Go one at a time on steep slopes. And watch your partners from a safe spot.
Avalanches are unlikely today and the avalanche danger is LOW.
While this is our last forecast of the season, avalanches will remain possible until all the snow melts. We will issue spring snowpack and weather updates each Monday and Friday through April, and as needed, and we will share relevant avalanche and snowpack observations on our website and social media. Please continue sending us your observations. You can submit them via our website, email (mtavalanche@gmail.com), phone (406-587-6984), or Instagram (#gnfacobs).
This is our final avalanche forecast of the 2021/’22 season. Thank you to everyone who has followed the forecasts, submitted field observations and donated to the Friends of the Avalanche Center. We are grateful to be a part of your winter. We will continue to provide avalanche updates every Monday and Friday through April.