Avalanche Climate

Climate determines why certain parts of the world have lots of snow while other places at similar latitudes are arid. Various classification schemes describe the types of snowpack found around the world.

Global snowpack types based on the Sturm et al classification scheme, with maps showing the type for each region of Northern America

When it comes to the types of climate in which avalanches occur, we use another set of terms. Avalanche climate refers to average winter weather patterns that cause certain kinds of snowpack conditions to develop. There are three primary types, maritime (coastal), continental, and intermountain, which are differentiated by average overall snowpack depth, average winter temperatures, and frequency and average density of new snowfall. In general, maritime avalanche climates lie within coastal mountain ranges; continental avalanche climates are located in higher-elevation, interior mountain ranges; and intermountain avalanche climates are transitional zones, usually found between coastal and interior mountain ranges.

Google map of the Western US with the avalanche climates zones (maritime, intermountain, continental) labeled for many of the major mountain ranges