1. Home
  2. Update

USA: Avalanche forecasters say Rocky Mountain region now at higher risk

Source(s): Public Radio International
Upload your content

Storms sweeping across the Rocky Mountains this winter have caused the highest avalanche danger since the ratings started in 1973. More than 3,000 avalanches already have taken place in Colorado alone, and they're unusually large.

[...]

"We saw more in the first 10 days of March than we'd typically see in a five-year period," [Brian Lazar, a deputy director of the Colorado Avalanche Information Center,] says.

His research suggests that, as the climate warms, wet snow avalanches like those he's seeing now could start two to four weeks earlier than normal. That means a longer avalanche season.

[...]

A longer season with warmer weather means an uptick in slides is likely, which makes controlling avalanches in ski areas like Aspen difficult.

[...]

Read the original story here

Editors' recommendations

Explore further

Hazards Avalanche
Themes Climate change Risk identification and assessment
Country and region United States of America

Please note: Content is displayed as last posted by a PreventionWeb community member or editor. The views expressed therein are not necessarily those of UNDRR, PreventionWeb, or its sponsors. See our terms of use

Is this page useful?

Yes No
Report an issue on this page

Thank you. If you have 2 minutes, we would benefit from additional feedback (link opens in a new window).