Doug Chabot, Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center director, investigates an avalanche crown on Saturday in the southern Madison range. COURTESY OF GNFAC
A winter storm that began Friday and stretched into the weekend dropped nearly 3 feet of snow around Big Sky and Bozeman and pushed temperatures to around minus 30 and minus 40 degrees around southwest Montana.
The area around the Gallatin Valley was primed for a snowstorm, said Cody Moldan, lead meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Great Falls. The days preceding the winter storm saw warm conditions and “quite a bit of Pacific moisture” in the upper atmosphere before a cold front swooped into the region.
“It was an overall good setup for heavy snow for us,” Moldan said.
The cold air turned out to be efficient at wringing that moisture out of the air and bringing it down as fairly heavy, wet snow before temperatures dropped further. It favored the northern mountains, he said, with the Bridger Range catching the most snowfall. Sites from Bridger Bowl to SNOTELs farther north consistently reported between 27 inches and 31 inches of snow.
Moldan said the Big Sky area snowfall totals ranged from 19 to 26 inches. The Tobacco Root and Gravelly mountains west of Big Sky say more than a foot of new snow, NWS data show.
The heavy snow and cold weather delayed openings over the weekend of ski areas and zones within those areas. Due to the cold, both Bridger and Big Sky Resort didn’t open until mid-morning on Sunday.
Many large natural and human-triggered avalanches occurred throughout the storm cycle, according to the Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center forecast for Jan. 30. There were no reports of injuries or burials over the weekend. But avalanche forecasters found recent slides breaking on layers of surface hoar buried beneath the new snow around Cooke City and south of Big Sky in Taylor Fork.
Alex Marienthal wrote in the Jan. 30 GNFAC forecast that fresh windslabs will be easy to trigger and carry the risk of stepping down to other buried weak layers, causing deeper and wider slides.
Temperatures turned subzero late Saturday and remained there through early Monday afternoon.
The area around West Yellowstone saw the coldest temperatures, as a NWS station reported minus 41 degrees at 7:39 a.m. Monday morning. Moldan said the Bozeman airport had a reading of minus 29. The only record low temperature set in the area, he said, was in Dillon, where a preliminary record daily low of minus 27 was set Monday morning, breaking the previous record, which dated back to 1951.
The rest of the week is expected to be warmer, Moldan said. Cold air is expected to linger in the valleys, but he said that thermometers ought to swing back up to around 32 degrees by mid-week—signaling the potential for a roughly 60-degree temperature swing in just a few days.
Children turning 5 on or before
9/10/2024: Kindergarten
enrollment for the 2024-2025 school year can be completed by following the
registration process now.
Children
born on or after September 11, 2019:4K enrollment is now open for
families that have a 4-year-old they would like to enroll in our program for
the 2023-2024 school year. Please complete the 4K Interest Form to
express your interest. Completing this form does not guarantee enrollment into
the 4K program. Enrollment is capped at twenty 4-year-olds currently
residing within Big Sky School District boundary full time and will be
determined by birth date in calendar order of those born on or after September
11, 2018. Interest form closes on May 30th.
Enrollment now is critical for fall preparations. Thank you!
My Barking Dog is a nightmare comedy that tells the story of Toby and Melinda, two lonely people whose lives are forever changed the night they encounter a starving coyote at their apartment building. Over time they grow to expect him, leaving ritual offerings to entice the coyote every night. Toby and Melinda forge a connection over this visitor and share curiosity and concern about his presence in the city. The coyote expands their world–until, one night, their world is shattered. Their lives are pushed suddenly into uncharted territory, sending them on a surreal odyssey that changes their city–and the world–forever.
Directed by LX Miller. Starring Max Schneider and Denise Hergett
Verge Theater is continuing their mission to provide accessible theater to our community. Tickets for My Barking Dog are Pay What You Wish with a suggested price of $35. Audience members are offered the opportunity to select the price point that is comfortable for them when purchasing tickets.
My Barking Dog runs March 15-17, 22-24, 28-30
Performances on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays begin at 7:00 p.m., with Sunday matinees offered at 3:00 p.m.
Suitable for ages 16 . No animals are harmed in the staging of this production.
Saturday, March 23rd 6:00-8:00pm
We will combine the heart-opening powers of cacao with the transcendental powers of breathwork and sound. Together, these practices will give us the opportunity for a deep
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Event Details
Saturday, March 23rd 6:00-8:00pm
We will combine the heart-opening powers of cacao with the transcendental powers of breathwork and sound. Together, these practices will give us the opportunity for a deep inward journey and peak state experience. This experience can activate and clear the chakras, release trauma, reset the nervous system, connect us with higher consciousness, and help us achieve self-actualization. No prior experience is necessary. Register at santoshabigsky.com/workshops-special-events
Time
March 23 (Saturday) 6:00 pm - April 23 (Tuesday) 8:00 pm