An avalanche is a rapid flow of snow down a slope, such as a hill or mountain. Avalanches can be triggered spontaneously, by factors such as increased precipitation or snowpack weakening, or by … See more

Doug Fesler and Jill Fredston developed a conceptual model of the three primary elements of avalanches: terrain, weather, and snowpack. Terrain describes the places where avalanches occur, weather describes the meteorological conditions that create the … See more

How to prevent avalanches
Preventative measures are employed in areas where avalanches pose a significant threat to people, such as ski resorts, mountain towns, roads, and railways. There are several ways to prevent avalanches and … See more

Most avalanches occur spontaneously during storms under increased load due to snowfall and/or erosion. Metamorphic changes in the … See more

People caught in avalanches can die from suffocation, trauma, or hypothermia.
From "1950–1951 to 2020–2021" there were 1,169 people who died in avalanches in the United States. … See more

When a slab avalanche forms, the slab disintegrates into increasingly smaller fragments as the snow travels downhill. If the fragments become small enough the outer layer of the avalanche, called a saltation layer, takes on the characteristics of a See more

Two avalanches occurred in March 1910 in the Cascade and Selkirk Mountain ranges; on 1 March the Wellington avalanche killed 96 in See more