On top of this incredibly weak base is 1-3 feet of snow of varying hardness from the post-Christmas storms. This simple snowpack structure — a widespread weak layer under a thick, cohesive slab — ...

An avalanche this week buried ... notes Utah has hardly had any snow this season, but the base is soft and sugary. “We have a very dangerous snowpack setup,” he said. “I hate to be the ...

By Judson Jones and Lily Boyce Every avalanche starts ... ups and wind events. As snow accumulates on the ground throughout winter, water vapor moves across the snowpack. “Once snow falls ...

If it’s over 40 degrees, the snow typically cannot accumulate, clearing away the avalanche risk. Then there needs to be a trigger. A snowpack may be seemingly stable until a snowmobile or skier ...

The avalanche was naturally triggered but serves as a good reminder that the snowpack in much of Colorado is still unstable. With more than a foot of snow slated to hit Colorado's southern mountains ...

According to data compiled and published online by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Bitterroot River basin held 91% of its historical normal snow ... on snowpack conditions and avalanche ...

In a gliding avalanche, the entire snowpack slides down a suitable substratum such as grass or slabs of rock. Such avalanches are always released naturally. This requires the snow on the ground to ...

When you add accumulating rain or snow, jarring winds, or quick melting warmups, large amounts of snow can quickly destabilize. The resulting avalanche ... the bottom of the snowpack.

“Snowpack does not like rapid change and your best bet to enjoy this newest snow is to stay out of avalanche terrain and stick to lower angle slopes less than 30 degrees in steepness,” said ...

SEATTLE — The closer to spring we get, the more the snow at Snoqualmie ... to monitor the snowpack's evolution through the winter season. "We have three main avalanche areas west of Snoqualmie ...

Avalanche generally occur on slopes steeper than 30 degrees Snowpack: Recent avalanches, shooting cracks, and “whumpfing” are signs of unstable snow Trigger: Sometimes it doesn’t take much ...

The avalanche was naturally triggered but serves as a good reminder that the snowpack in much of Colorado is still unstable. With more than a foot of snow slated to hit Colorado's southern ...