# @usgs on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DEkqGOBzgBj
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/69013937-usgs-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/4bee33a9cb.jpg
- **Posted:** 2025-01-08T17:21:08.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) (@USGS) — https://gondola.cc/USGS

## Caption

Snow avalanches are a major natural hazard with substantial impacts to society, including human safety and commerce. They also serve as an important ecological disturbance by modifying habitat for flora and fauna. 

Wet snow avalanches are dangerous and can be particularly difficult to predict because they are relatively poorly understood compared to dry snow avalanches. They pose substantial risk to human life and infrastructure in mountainous areas throughout the world.

Wet snow avalanches are caused by a weakening in snowpack layer strength, often triggered by rain, abundant sunshine, or warm temperatures. As temperatures increase and mid-winter rain events become more common due to a changing climate, wet snow avalanche frequency is expected to increase, and the timing of this avalanche hazard type will change.

By analyzing the behavior of wet snow avalanches and the specific weather and climate factors that contribute to them, USGS research at our Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center is critical for understanding and mitigating risks to public safety and infrastructure posed by increasing wet snow avalanche frequency in a changing climate.

Learn more at the link in today's story. 

#SnowyScience

📷: Glacier National Park, Montana. Credit: USGS
1: A man stands next to wet slab avalanche debris.
2: A wet snow avalanche debris along a road.
3: A researcher conducting routine maintenance on a Weather Station.
4: Researchers examine snow crystal type, layer temperature, and density to understand snowpack characteristics leading to the formation of avalanche release.
5: Avalanche debris consisting of both snow and woody debris initially dammed a mountain stream before the stream eventually eroded the debris and continued along its natural route.

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## Tags

snowyscience

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