Avalanches form through the interaction of snowpack, terrain, and weather,
the latter being the focus of this module. The module begins with basic information about avalanches, highlighting weather's role in their development. The rest of the module teaches weather forecasters how to make an avalanche weather forecast, that is, one in which key weather parameters are evaluated for their impact on avalanche potential. The forecasts are used primarily by avalanche forecasters, who integrate them with other information to determine when to issue avalanche hazard warnings. The module contains five cases that let users apply the avalanche weather forecast process to different combinations of snowpack, terrain, and weather conditions. It is a companion to the COMET module "Snowpack and Its Assessment," which describes snowpack development and various assessment techniques.
Define an avalanche and describe its components, the types of weather that produce it, the different types of avalanches, and avalanche triggers
Identify the weather parameters that play a key role in avalanche formation
Outline the avalanche weather forecast process
Given a request for an avalanche weather forecast, describe the background information that's important to gather about the area's climate, terrain, and snowpack, and its weather and avalanche history
Describe the process of assessing current and future avalanche weather conditions for avalanche potential
Describe how the information from the previous steps is integrated to produce a final avalanche weather forecast
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