Avalanche danger ranges from ‘high’ to ‘considerable’ in Rocky Mountains

A lot of snow on top of a weak snowpack caused by extended warm, dry weather equals danger.
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Rocky Mountain National Park. Jan. 15, 2017. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite) nature; rocky mountain national park; snowshoe; hike; winter; weather; kevinjbeaty; denverite; colorado;

Rocky Mountain National Park. Jan. 15, 2017. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)

The risk of avalanches is still elevated in Colorado's northern and central mountains after up to 3 feet of snow fell in the last week.

The Colorado Avalanche Information Center says naturally occurring slides will be less likely Wednesday but it will be easy for people to trigger avalanches there.

The new snow is resting on top of a weak snowpack created by a long period without snow and unseasonably warm weather.

The risk of avalanches is low in southwestern Colorado, which has been bypassed by the recent storms. The snowpack there is only 25 percent of average, compared with 62 percent of average in the state overall.

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