A New Approach to Public Avalanche Information in Colorado

A New Approach to Public Avalanche Information in

Colorado

Colorado Snow and Avalanche Workshop October 4, 2013

GoalsTo provide:‒ information to all levels of recreational users‒ information to support professional operations‒ simple messages‒ clear descriptions‒ public avalanche safety products that are

consistent with avalanche safety education

Tier 1 A Simple Message

• Targets novice user• Single avalanche

danger rating– Signal word– Number– Color– Icon

• Travel advice from the avalanche danger scale

Tier 2 The Details

• Targets recreational users that have taken a Level 1 avalanche class

Tier 2The Details• Danger rating

by elevation band

• Danger rating for two day

• Summery of current conditions

• Twitter feed to update within forecast period

Avalanche Problem

• Elements of Danger Scale for each problem• Same elements each day• Graphics to help you see the relative threat • Images and Videos to illustrate each problem

Avalanche Problem

•Problem Name – Set of 8 used throughout North America•Problem Specific Advice

Persistent slabs can be triggered by light loads and weeks after the last storm. You can trigger them remotely and they often propagate across and beyond terrain features that would otherwise confine wind and storm slabs. Give yourself a wide safety buffer to handle the uncertainty.

Avalanche Problem

• Problem Icon• Problem Location• Likelihood of Trigger

• Size of Avalanche• Images and Videos• Description of Current Issue

Avalanche Problem

Lots of help on the page and throughout the site

Weather Forecast

• Three 12-hour periods

– Temperature

– Wind Speed

– Wind Direction

– Sky Cover

– Snow

Tier 2The Details

• Discussion of information used to create Avalanche Forecast

• Images and Videos

Tier 2The Details

• Five Day Trend– Three

previous days

– Two forecast days

Tier 3Data

• Observations from each zone

• Previous 5-days

• Links to full database

Product Schedule

• Weather Forecast– 6:00 AM and 1:00 PM

• Avalanche Forecast– 7:30 AM

• Forecast Discussion– Updated daily as

necessary

Tier 3 – Raw Data

A Few Words about Icons

• Looked at examples from natural hazard warning systems

• Simple illustrations• Limited use of text• Purposeful use of color• Often in profile

Icon Sets

• Consistent use of elements• Consistent perspective• Consistent use of color

Questions?