What is SWE? SWE stands for Snow Water Equivalent. What it measures is the amount of liquid water in the snow. If you took a height of snow and melted it, the height of the water created is SWE. For example, if 10″ of snow falls at 10% density,...
This month’s snowpack update comes as we transition from winter to spring. As of March 22, the Snow Water Equivalent (SWE) totals in west central Montana are just above average (Figure 1). After a month of small storms and average temperatures, our primary avalanche concerns are focused on...
Snowpack Discussion The snowpack continues to evolve in West Central Montana. In late January, our primary avalanche concern was persistent slab avalanches failing on facets at the bottom of the snowpack. During this time period, several natural persistent slab avalanches failed near the ground. Although the exact timing remains...
Avalanche conditions from January 11th until January 24th have been at considerable danger, trending towards moderate danger. We are currently most concerned with persistent weak layers, failing near the ground on depth hoar and facets. The second problematic persistent weak layer is a combination buried surface hoar, near-surface facets, and crusts. This weak layer is found at different...
WCMAC forecasters are in the field analyzing how recent storm snow is gaining strength, tracking where the wind is drifting snow and keeping a close eye on buried persistent weak layers. This Thursday 1/10/19 from 6 – 8 PM at Big Sky Brewing, they will return from a day in...
Education | Fundraising | General | Snowpack | Weather
Avalanche forecasters play a critical role in protecting the public and raising avalanche awareness by communicating the potential for avalanches to cause harm or injury to backcountry travelers. West Central Montana Avalanche Center (WCMAC) forecasters work to keep you informed of the danger avalanches pose by gathering as much information as possible from...
Generating backcountry travel plans without avalanche center forecast information requires knowledge of weather events. Review snotel data for current snow totals and weather station data for temperatures, wind trends, and speeds. With these tools, you can get an idea of the avalanche problems you could encounter on your trip and choose appropriate terrain...
Education | Fundraising | Snowpack | Weather
This Thursday evening, February 22nd from 6-8 pm, Big Sky Brewing will be hosting our Beers With Your Avalanche Forecaster finale! In an ongoing effort to help us make the Montana backcountry a safer place, Big Sky Brewing is donating event proceeds to the West Central Montana Avalanche Foundation....
The week started out simply enough, a scattered inch here and there before dramatically shifting mid-week. Wednesday brought a foot of snow to the Seeley Lake area and inch and a half of water. The northern half of the advisory area got the most snow and water from the...
This weeks weather is easier to summarized than the last two weeks. There were no storms bringing feet of snow, just the occasional inch or two here and there. It may come as a surprise considering the lack of any major weather events but this week was marked by...
