Local avalanche warning in Europe

Abstract

Avalanche exposed settlements, communication lines, ski resort operations, construction sites, tourism and professional guiding are only few examples of activities in the mountains where an active risk management requires local avalanche warnings. While regional avalanche warning is somehow standardized by the rules and standards of the European Avalanche Warning Services (EAWS), local avalanche warning services use a great variety of methods and tools both in the avalanche hazard assessment and in the communication of the results. To gain an overview of the different practices in Europe, the EAWS established a working group on local avalanche warning. The aim of the working group is to establish a general definition of local and regional avalanche warning and to outline the state of the art in Europe. A questionnaire in six languages was circulated in Europe to target local avalanche services collecting more than 200 answers. The analysis of the survey shows a large variety between local avalanche services, very different set-ups and applied methods for assessing and communicating the local avalanche danger. Based on the results of the questionnaire, a first definition of local versus regional avalanche warning assessment is presented.