The last forecast for the 2022-2023 season was posted on April 30th. Thanks to everyone who supported the Sierra Avalanche Center this season by submitting observations, assisting with education, volunteering, and/or donating.

The last forecast for the 2022-2023 season was posted on April 30th. Thanks to everyone who supported the Sierra Avalanche Center this season by submitting observations, assisting with education, volunteering, and/or donating.
At the end of the day, find a cell or wifi signal to submit observations to the local avalanche center. Let them know what conditions you observed, using language that you are comfortable with, and/or images and videos. By doing so, you will:
Developing the habit of submitting observations teaches you to maintain awareness of conditions in a thoughtful, systematic way so that you can communicate them effectively to the local avalanche center. If the avalanche center makes other public observations available, don’t bias your own submission by looking at them first. Instead, look at them after you submit, and then read the next day's forecast to see how all the observations influenced it. This process will teach you to think about conditions from the forecaster’s perspective. Your observations will become more valuable, and over time you’ll gain better appreciation and understanding of how weather, snowpack, and avalanches relate to each other.
Don’t feel obligated to use technical or unfamiliar terminology in your submission. Doing so can short circuit your own learning process, and doesn’t benefit anyone else. Use language that you’re comfortable with, that most accurately communicates what you observed. To improve your avalanche-specific language, you can use the avalanche encyclopedia hosted by the American Avalanche Association and the National Avalanche Center.
Most avalanche centers cover a broad region, with limited resources. The forecasting process is data driven, and every bit of data contributes to the whole and has the potential to be valuable. Submissions need to be timely, so make them before the end of the day.
Some avalanche centers have a specific format for submitting observations, and others have open formats or accept email reports. Follow the preferred format, but consider organizing your thoughts using the Conditions Alerts checklist. Don’t feel the need to address every bullet point below. Keep your submission simple and accurate. If your group has lots of valuable information to contribute, you can share the load, but otherwise only one person from the group should submit observations to avoid confusion.
Avalanche Activity:
Other Signs of Instability:
Persistent Problem:
Recent Loading:
Rapid Warming:
This website is owned and maintained by the non-profit arm of the Sierra Avalanche Center. Some of the content is updated by the USDA avalanche forecasters including the forecasts and some observational data. The USDA is not responsible for any advertising, fund-raising events/information, or sponsorship information, or other content not related to the forecasts and the data pertaining to the forecasts.