How Warm Weather And Rain Can Increase Avalanche Danger

Colorado, along with several other regions throughout the United States, have seen some pretty warm weather over the past several weeks. While most of the state’s backcountry terrain has been under a low or moderate avalanche danger for quite a while, the snowpack is still actively changing. Jason with the Colorado Avalanche Information Center went out to Independence Pass to see how the weather has impacted the snowpack, explaining how the warm weather could actually increase the avalanche danger.

The warm weather created a fragile crust with really faceted snow underneath. While that doesn’t necessarily lead to an avalanche, it does mean the avalanche danger could be significantly worse the next time it snows. Make sure you always check the avalanche forecast before heading into the backcountry in addition to having the proper education and the correct avalanche safety equipment.

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• Colorado
• AvalancheBackcountry