At 6:37 a.m. on Wednesday, the National Weather Service issued an avalanche warning for Baker County that would last until Thursday at 5 a.m.
“Very dangerous avalanche conditions developed last night for the Southern Wallowas,” the weather agency notes. A backcountry traveler has a high probability of causing a massive and lethal avalanche today.
“Heavy snow overnight has rapidly overloaded an already unstable snowpack, causing likely widespread natural avalanches overnight and very likely human triggered ones through the day,” explains the weather service. “There are extremely hazardous avalanche conditions. It is not advised to travel in avalanche terrain, even in areas where avalanche pathways may not be clearly visible. Locations outside of this or any avalanche center’s coverage area may be subject to similar avalanche threat.
How to stay safe according to the weather service
Understand the three prerequisites for an avalanche:
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Slope: Avalanche generally occur on slopes steeper than 30 degrees
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Snowpack: Recent avalanches, shooting cracks, and whumpfing are signs of unstable snow
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Trigger: Sometimes it doesn t take much to tip the balance; people, new snow, and wind are common triggers
Ascertain whether you are above or below avalanche-prone slopes:
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Find out if the snow is stable
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Get the advisory: Refer to your local avalanche center for current snowpack conditions
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Get the gear and learn how to use it
Make sure your bag contains these three avalanche safety necessities:
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Transceiver: So you can be found if covered by the snow
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Shovel: So you can dig out your partner
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Probe: So you can locate someone who has been covered by the snow
After roughly fifteen minutes, avalanche survival rates for survivors who do not pass away from trauma drastically decline. It’s up to you to save your lover! It’s crucial to practice realistic scenarios in advance.
United Robots offers a service called Advance Local Weather Alerts that gathers the most recent information from the National Weather Service using machine learning.
