Snow, Weather, and Avalanches: Observational Guidelines for Avalanche Programs in the United States

2009 second edition printed version available now
Electronic version 2004 only, 2009 coming soon

This document was produced through the cooperative efforts of the American Avalanche Association (A3) and the Forest Service National Avalanche Center. Its creation involved a working group from a broad cross section of avalanche workers in the U.S. getting input from the general membership of A3 and cooperation from the Canadian Avalanche Association. The result is this working document that we expect to be updated every five to ten years.

The electronic copy below is not printable, and is meant to be a resource for folks to check out the guidelines, view the contents, and do electronic searches. Bound hard copy of the document can be purchased through our online store beginning in the fall of 2004. Printable versions of the forms and conversion tables in the document are available below.

Introduction - includes the Table of Contents
Chapter 1 - Manual Snow and Weather Observations
Chapter 2 - Snowpack Observations
Chapter 3 - Avalanche Observations
Glossary
Appendix A-References
Appendix B-Units
Appendix C-Metadata
Appendix D-Observational sites for meteorological measurements
Appendix E (Part 1 and Part 2)-Automated weather stations
Appendix F (Part 1 and Part 2-ICSI classification for seasonal snow cover on the ground
Appendix G-Avalanche danger, hazard, and snow stability scales
Appendix H-Reporting avalanche involvements
Appendix I-Symbols and abbreviations

Printable Forms and Charts
Avalanche accident reporting form - Long form
Avalanche accident reporting form - Short form
Avalanche data codes
Conversion charts
Sample datalogger programs
Snow profile forms
Ram Field Sheet
Ram Calculation Sheet

Please send contents, corrections and suggestions to:
Mark Mueller
Executive Director - American Avalanche Association
P.O. Box 2831
Pagosa Springs, CO 81147


Supplementary Material
International Classification for Seasonal Snow Cover on the Ground
The draft report for the 2009 revision of the international snow classsification system can be viewed on this website, and you can also download the revised font set in either TrueType, OpenType or Adobe Type 1 formats.

Avalanche.org
A great resource for one-stop shop for avalanche information in the United States. Links to Avalanche Centers and Advisories in the U.S. and worldwide. Best source of information for U.S. avalanche accidents. Locate an avalanche course provider near you.

Forest Service National Avalanche Center
More information on snow and avalanche phenomena can be found on the Technology Transfer
section of the NAC's website.

Canadian Avalanche Association
A great resource for avalanche information in Canada.

Snow Crystal Physics at the California Institute of Technology
A great resource on snow crystal formation.

Snow Measuring Equipment and Snowpit Kits
Snowmetrics
Snowpit Technologies
Lifelink
Wasatch Touring

Field Notebooks
Snowpit Technologies
Hacksaw Publishing
AIARE Field Notebook
Rite in the Rain

Snow Profile Software
Snowpilot
Snowpro+

Automated Weather Stations and Sensors
Campbell Scientific
Judd Communications