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A skier should be familiar with the weather hazards which may happen during skiing. It is significant to be responsible for yourself and your buddies who go skiing with you. This page introduces some dangerous hazards that skiers may meet.

⚠️  1. Avalanches

🏔  Loose-snow Avalanche 🏔 

Loose-snow avalanche is also called sluff avalanche. It is caused since the surface snow does not tightly bond. After it happened, it will leave an inverted "V" pattern. Usually, a sluff avalanche may not cause considerable hurt to skiers, but it may change the terrain and bring skiers into a terrain trap. 

The Loose-snow avalanche is divided into wet sluff and dry sluff. The wet sluff is formed by layer failure caused by melt or rain, and the dry sluff is caused by a weak snow surface.

🏔  Slab Avalanche 🏔 

The slab avalanche occurs when an unstable layer is under a high-density snow surface. The tight layer above it will break into a block. The slab avalanche will lead to larger damage than the sluff avalanches. For example, it is more likely to bury people, and the blocks will crash down the slop. 

There are three types of slab avalanches. The wet slab is created when meltwater or rain permeates through the snowpack. The dry slab is produced when a strong layer over a weak layer. Additionally, high wind speed will lead to a wind slab.

📌 It is important for skiers to be concerned about climate predictions in order to avoid dangerous avalanches!! 

(Credit to Getty)

⚠️  2. Temperature

Skiing in too warm or too cold weather may lead to harm. The suitable temperature range for skiing is about -8 ℃ to 3 ℃.

🥶  Unusual Cold Weather 🥶  

In extremely cold weather, it is possible to encounter wind chill. The skier's body temperature will be descended by strong winds and lead to hypothermia. During hypothermia, human organs and systems can not keep normal working. Furthermore, it may damage the heart and leave the skier unable to breathe. Wind chill can also cause frostbite. It may make the skier's fingers red and blistered with pain and itch. 

More importantly, weak snow layers may form under unusual cold weather. If high-density newly-fallen snow covers on them, it will cause avalanches. 

Therefore, unusual cold is dangerous for skiing. If the temperature is lower than -15 ℃, the ski trip must be canceled!

🥵  Unusual Warm Weather 🥵

Under very warm weather, the skier will encounter strong solar insolation. It may cause hyperthermia and sunburn. Hyperthermia is harmful to the brain and other organs, and sunburn will damage the skin. 

Also, snowmelt will result in wet slab avalanches.

(Credit to Pual Morrison)

⚠️  3. Frontal System

A front is a boundary between cold and warm air masses.

🌨  Cold front 🌨 

On a cold front, colder air is advancing. When a cold front passes, the temperature will decrease, along with strong winds. This will result in wind chill which can cause frostbite and hypothermia. Furthermore, a cold front is along with precipitation. Heavy snow will limit visibility and increase risks. In addition, a cold front leads low-density snow to form which potentially causes an avalanche.

☔️  Warm front ☔️  

The warmer air is advancing on a warm front. Temperature becomes warmer when it passes, accompanied by snow followed by rain. Although a warm front is not as harmful as a cold front, it can form thick clouds and fog to limit visibility. Skiers may get lost because of poor visibility. Moreover, the high humidity will wet clothes.

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(Credit to Brendan LaChance)