Good Morning. This is Doug Chabot with the Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Advisory issued on Sunday, January 3, at 7:30 a.m. This advisory does not apply to operating ski areas. Mountain Weather: Since yesterday morning 2 inches of snow fell in Taylor Fork and the Bridgers while everywhere else got a trace to 1 inch. Winds have calmed significantly and are currently blowing out of the west at 5-15 mph with mountain temperatures in the high teens. Today we'll see mostly cloudy skies, light westerly winds and temperatures reaching the mid 20's. No snowfall is expected the next few days either. Snowpack and Avalanche Discussion: The southern Madison and southern Gallatin Ranges, the Lionhead Area near West Yellowstone, the mountains around Cooke City and the Washburn Range: The southern mountains have an extremely weak snowpack. Over a foot of new snow fell Thursday and Friday prompting yesterday's Avalanche Warning. During the last few days, natural and human triggered avalanches were seen in the Taylor Fork, Lionhead and Cooke City areas. Some of these slides were triggered from adjacent slopes and also from the flats. These are signs of very unstable conditions. Everything is sliding on sugary, faceted snow 1-2 feet deep. You may see a few naturals today and I expect you could easily trigger a slide. Getting an avalanche to release from flat terrain is scary and dangerous. Stay clear of runout zones and be aware of low-angled slopes that are connected to steeper terrain since avalanches can propagate over long distances. For today, the avalanche danger is rated HIGH on all recently wind-loaded slopes or any slope steeper than 35 degrees. Lower angled terrain has a CONSIDERABLE danger.