About EAWS
EAWS, the European Avalanche
Warning Services, prevent the loss
of lives and damages due to avalanches.
Our Mission
Objectives
- Developing standards, best practice guidelines and recommendations for avalanche warning services
- Exchanging expertise and promoting staff training
- Fostering cooperation between neighbouring services and promoting collaboration between Members
- Enhancing communication and awareness about the avalanche danger to all the categories of users through avalanche bulletins, new forecasting products and common standards and terminology
- Liaising with other relevant organisations and engaging in strategic relationships and alliances with those that share the objectives of the EAWS
- Ensuring that all programs, services, and materials are based on current research and scientific evidence
Standards
Our standards are described in the Memorandum of Understanding and under STANDARDS at avalanches.org.
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)
EAWS commits to liaising with reliability and honesty and to establishing a knowledge-based consortium. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) describes the objectives agreed by the members and the terms and conditions under which they will cooperate to achieve these objectives.
Milestones
EAWS Milestones
2019, June
New web page for EAWS: avalanches.org
2017, June
2017, June
Further development of the EAWS matrix
2017, June
Renaming of Avalanche Sizes
2015, June
Introduction of the Avalanche Problems
2009, June
Introduction of the Information Pyramid
2004, April
Introduction of the Glossary
2003, May
Introduction of the Bavarian Matrix (now EAWS Matrix)
1993, April
Introduction of the Avalanche Danger Scale
1983, October
Foundation of the working group of European Avalanche Warning Services in Munich
Members
EAWS Members
Organization
EAWS Organization
Chair Person
Rune V. Engeset
Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate, Norway
Coordinator
Thomas Stucki
WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF, Switzerland
TAB – Technical Advisory Board
Igor Chiambretti
AINEVA, Italy
Mark Diggins
SAIS, United Kingdom
Thomas Feistl
Avalanche Warning Service Bavaria, Germany
Christian Jaedicke
WG3 leader
NGI, Norway
Norbert Lanzanasto
Avalanche Warning Service Tirol, Austria
Christoph Mitterer
WG2 leader
Avalanche Warning Service Tirol, Austria
Fabiano Monti
ALPsolut, Italy
Karsten Müller
WG1 leader
NVE, Norway
Benjamin Zweifel
SLF, Switzerland
Working Group 1
EAWS Matrix & Danger Scale
In order to foster common understanding, routines and workflows in avalanche forecasting we will try to achieve the following goals: (1) Define and classify the key terms snowpack stability, spatial distribution of snowpack stability and avalanche size. (2) Relate these three terms to other terms currently in use. (3) Assign an avalanche danger level to each combination of the three terms above.
Karsten Müller (Leader)
NVE, Norway
Guillem Martín Bellido
Avalanche Warning Service, Andorra
Lorenzo Bertranda
Meteomont-Carabinieri, Italy
Thomas Feistl
Avalanche Warning Service Bavaria, Germany
Christoph Mitterer
Avalanche Warning Service Tirol, Austria
Petter Palmgren
Avalanche Warning Service, Sweden
Stefano Sofia
AINEVA, Italy
Frank Techel
Avalanche Warning Service, Switzerland
Working Group 2
Funding and organisation
The main goal of this working group is to review possibilities for funding within the EAWS. In addition, we will do a review on how other similar organisations established managing personnel.
Christoph Mitterer (Leader)
Avalanche Warning Service Tirol, Austria
Chiara de Lucia
Meteomont-Carabinieri, Italy
Vincenzo Romeo
Meteomont-Carabinieri, Italy
Valerio Segor
AINEVA, Italy
Working Group 3
Best practices in local forecasting
The goal is to review todays practice and to evaluate how the European avalanche danger scale is applicable in local avalanche warning. How to organize local services under EAWS?
Christian Jaedicke (Leader)
NGI, Norway
Sergio Azzarello
Meteomont-Carabinieri, Italy
Paola Dellavedova
AINEVA, Italy
Toni Molné
Avalanche Warning Service, Andorra
Fabiano Monti
ALPsolut, Italy
Lukas Stoffel
SLF, Switzerland
Arnold Studeregger
Avalanche Warning Service Styria, Austria
Membership Committee
Jürg Schweizer (Leader)
SLF, Switzerland
Rudi Mair
LWD Tirol, Austria
Gloria Marti
ICGC, Spain
Aleš Poredoš
ARSO, Slovenia
Vincenzo Romeo
Meteomont-Carabinieri, Italy
Chair Person
Rune V. Engeset
Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate, Norway
Coordinator
Thomas Stucki
WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF, Switzerland
TAB – Technical Advisory Board
Marek Biskupič
SLP+HZS, Slovakia
Mark Diggins
SAIS, United Kingdom
Christoph Mitterer
LWD Tirol, Austria
Fabiano Monti
ALPsolut, Italy
Samuel Morin
WG2 leader
Météo-France, France
Karsten Müller
WG1 leader
NVE, Norway
Arno Studeregger
WG3 leader
LWD Steiermark, Austria
Beni Zweifel
SLF, Switzerland
Working Group 1
EAWS Matrix & Danger Scale
The goal of this working group is a more consistent forecasting across country borders. Important work is to define the key terms used in the matrix and danger scale, to revise the “spontaneous avalanches”-part of the matrix and to evaluate/improve weaknesses of the avalanche danger scale.
Karsten Müller (Leader)
NVE, Norway
Lorenzo Bertranda
Meteomont, Italy
Igor Chiambretti
AINEVA, Italy
Cecile Coleou
Météo France, France
Thomas Feistl
LWD Bayern, Germany
Pavel Krajci
SLP+HZS, Slovakia
Gloria Marti
ICGC, Spain
Patrick Nairz
LWD Tirol, Austria
Benjamin Zweifel
SLF, Switzerland
Working Group 2
Best practices in regional forecasting
The goal of this working group is to provide a platform for initiating exchanges about avalanche forecasting operations within EAWS members, in order to identify commonalities, discrepancies, best practices, which could result in overall benchmarking, improvements and harmonization of avalanche warning operations in Europe.
Samuel Morin (Leader)
Météo-France, France
Marek Biskupič
SLP+HZS, Slovakia
Alberto Blanco
FMI, Finland
Mark Diggins
SAIS, United Kingdom
Andreas Gobiet
LWD Steiermark, Austria
Christoph Mitterer
LWD Tirol, Austria
Petter Palmgren
EPA, Sweden
Christine Pielmeier
SLF, Switzerland
Lukas Rastner
AINEVA, Italy
Vincenzo Romeo
Meteomont, Italy
Working Group 3
Best practices in local forecasting
The goal is to review todays practice and to evaluate how the European avalanche danger scale is applicable in local avalanche warning. How to organize local services under EAWS?
Arno Studeregger (Leader)
LWD Steiermark, Austria
Sergio Azzarello
Meteomont, Italy
Guillem Martín Bellido
SMA-OECC, Andorra
Paola Dellavedova
AINEVA, Italy
Carles Garcia
ICGC, Spain
Christian Jaedicke
NGI, Norway
Toni Molné
SMA-OECC, Andorra
Fabiano Monti
ALPsolut, Italy
Lukas Stoffel
SLF, Switzerland
Membership Commitee
Jürg Schweizer (Leader)
SLF, Switzerland
Igor Chiambretti
AINEVA, Italy
Rudi Mair
LWD Tirol, Austria
Gloria Marti
ICGC, Spain
Aleš Poredoš
ARSO, Slovenia
Chair Person
Hans Konetschny
LWD Bayern, Germany
Coordinator
Igor Chiambretti
AINEVA, Italy
Working Group 1
Avalanche Problems
Leader:
Benjamin Zweifel
SLF, Switzerland
Working Group 2
EAWS Matrix & Danger Scale
Leader:
Karsten Müller
NVE, Norway
Working Group 3
Regulations
Leader:
Igor Chiambretti
AINEVA, Italy
Chair Person
Igor Chiambretti
AINEVA, Italy
Coordinator
Gloria Marti
ICGC, Spain
Chair Person
Patrick Nairz
LWD Tirol, Austria
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