Montana Daily Snow
By Bob Ambrose, Forecaster Posted 2 years ago April 11, 2021
Almost Like Winter Again
Summary
24-hour fresh snow reports had 4” Lookout Pass, 3” Big Sky and 2” Red Lodge with an inch at Whitefish and Snowbowl. Speaking of, today will be the last day of operations of the 20/21 season at Whitefish and Snowbowl. This will also be my last Montana post of the season as well. Sunday, clearing skies with a mix of sun and clouds, quite cold with highs of 22 to 30 degrees across the upper terrain.
Short Term Forecast
West of the Continental Divide:
Sunday: Closing day at Whitefish and Snowbowl. A mix of sun and clouds with a very slight chance of mid-afternoon snow flurries. Highs across the mountain tops will range from 30 at Whitefish to 35 at Lookout to 32 at Snowbowl. Light North winds.
East of the Continental Divide:
Sunday: As a ridge of high pressure begins to build, skies will clear for a partly sunny/partly cloudy and cold day at 8000’ across the Eastside. High temperatures of 22 at Big Sky and 32 at Red Lodge. Cold N/NW winds 10 to 15 mph with gusts to 20 mph over the ridgetops will make things a bit chilly out there this morning.
Extended Forecast
West of the Continental Divide:
High-pressure builds in on Monday bringing sunny skies to the daily forecast through Thursday. A NW flow will keep things cold with high temperatures staying 5 to 10 degrees below seasonal averages. This is good for our snowpack.
East of the Continental:
High-pressure is expected to build through Tuesday. An upper-level trough will move into the region bringing chances of 1 to 3 inches on Wednesday with a similar wave Thursday as well. Skies look to stay unsettled into the day Friday as well. Daytime temperatures continue below seasonal averages.
As mentioned earlier, this post will be my last of the 20/21 season. I will continue to post daily forecasts (updated every morning at 8am) for Big Sky until they close next Sunday, April 18th. Thanks for reading this year and enjoy all the great spring skiing left!
Powder Out –
Bob
Below: Montana Snowpack Percentages as of Sunday, April 11th. Not bad in comparison to many Western States.
Announcements
Montana Ski Areas & Resorts / Geographical References
WEST of the Divide:
Whitefish Mountain Resort – OPEN daily / Last Day April 11th
Blacktail Mountain – CLOSED Last Day Saturday April 10th
Turner Mountain – CLOSED
Lookout Pass (MT/ID) -OPEN daily / Last Day April 18th
Montana Snowbowl –OPEN / Closed Mon. & Tues./ Extended Season - Last Day now April 11th
Discovery Basin – CLOSED
Lost Trail Powder Mountain –CLOSED
EAST of the Divide:
Big Sky Resort – OPEN daily / Last Day April 18th
Bridger Bowl – CLOSED
Red Lodge Mountain – OPEN daily / Last Day April 18th (BONUS weekend OPEN SAT/SUN April 17 & 18)
Great Divide – OPEN Weekends Only until the snow melts.
Showdown – CLOSED
Teton Pass Ski Area –CLOSED Last Day April 10th
Maverick Mountain – CLOSED.
Backcountry Avalanche Reports:
West Central Montana Avalanche Center
Flathead Avalanche Center
Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center:
NEW: Avalanche Forecasts
Many folks have requested this over the past year and we're excited to now show avalanche forecasts for regions across North America.
You can use our map view to see a quick overview of the avalanche forecast conditions and you can also go back in time for the last 7 days to see how the avalanche conditions have changed by using the slider at the bottom of the map.
Also, we integrated the avalanche forecast into each mountain location page under a new tab called "Avalanche Forecast".
The avalanche forecasts are freely available and are the foundation of any backcountry experience. Please check these forecasts each time you head out of controlled terrain!
You can view the avalanche forecasts right now on our website and they will be live on our iPhone and Android apps very soon.