Observations are a snapshot of a single point in space and time and subject to constantly evolving and spatially variable conditions. The Flathead Avalanche Center (FAC) cannot vouch for the quality or accuracy of any observations that come from the general public. Please use this page as part of your information gathering process, but don't make decisions based on a single piece of information.

The information on this page is consistent with the curriculum for avalanche classes and observational guidelines in the U.S. For more information about avalanche classes, visit the American Avalanche Association (AAA) or American Institute for Avalanche Research and Education (AIARE) websites. All of the coding and abbreviations for data presented follows the publication Snow, Weather, and Avalanches: Observational Guidelines for Avalanche Programs in the United States (SWAG) which is the standard for all professional avalanche programs in the US. An electronic copy is available here. Most of what you are looking for is in Chapter 2 and Appendix F part 1. We use a program called SnowPilot to create the snowpit graphs. This program is available as a free download at http://www.snowpilot.org/. A video on how to download and use this program is available here.