Winter snow continues to pile up in the mountains and fortunately we even have snow on the valley floor.
If you are planning on heading out to enjoy winter in the backcountry make sure to check weather and snow conditions before you go. Although general information is available on the radio, television or in print, there are additional weather and snowpack informational sources available for area specific or regional conditions.
The first go-to website worth taking a look at for a general synopsis of what weather is occurring or in the forecast for Northwest Montana is the homepage for the National Weather Service in Missoula: www.wrh.noaa.gov/mso.
The NWS home page is not backcountry orientated, but it provides an interactive website and allows users to gather weather forecasts, watches, warnings and hazardous statements for both central and western Montana as well as a good portion of Idaho.
For more detailed backcountry weather information, you can go to the NWS Backcountry Forecast for Western Montana and Idaho, www.wrh.noaa.gov/mso/avalanche/. This link has been updated by the staff at NWS and provides an excellent backcountry information product.
As you will see when you access this webpage, there are numerous links related to regional backcountry weather forecasts, snow information and avalanche advisories. There is also a link for the text based Area Forecast Discussion, which will allow you to read what forecasters are predicting for weather in the short and long term.
If you are headed east of the Continental Divide or other mountain ranges in Central or Southwest Montana, the Great Falls National Weather Service offers similar backcountry and weather products at www.wrh.noaa.gov/tfx/.
If you’re traveling entirely outside Western Montana and need to obtain weather and avalanche-related information, please check a website simply called Avalanche.org at www.avalanche.org.
This site allows you to access all Montana avalanche centers along with all other avalanche centers located in the United States. At each of these center sites you will be able view current avalanche advisories, archived advisories and related information. Further Internet links will be tied to whatever avalanche centers you access that can get you to a particular center’s regional weather information and data.
For those of you headed north of the U.S. border into the mountains of Alberta and/or British Columbia, the web address to access information related to avalanche conditions, snowpack and weather is www.avalanche.ca/cac/.
Again, as you will see when accessing this site, there are numerous links to access as you scroll across the header and sidebar options.
I hope this information proves helpful for those venturing out. Please remember to ensure you and everyone in your party are carrying proper gear for whatever backcountry activity you are planning. It’s also imperative that everybody in your group knows how to properly use gear and is experienced to whatever level necessary to have a safe and enjoyable experience on your next winter adventure.
Thanks for listening.
Ted Steiner is a local avalanche educator and forecaster.