Avalanche Risk by State & County

Ranked by FEMA National Risk Index avalanche hazard score · code AVLN

Avalanche risk reflects fast-moving snow and debris sliding down steep mountain slopes. FEMA's National Risk Index scores each county's avalanche hazard from its expected annual loss, annualized event frequency, and exposed population. Teton County, Wyoming currently leads the nation with a avalanche score of 100.0 and $23M in expected annual loss. Alaska, Montana, Washington account for much of the highest-rated avalanche risk in this dataset.

Read the full avalanche risk guide — how FEMA scores it and how to prepare →

Avalanche Risk by State

#StateExpected Ann. LossAvg. ScoreRatingCounties Rated
1Colorado$96M
51.5
Medium 64 of 64
2Alaska$61M
75.1
High 30 of 30
3Utah$53M
78.3
High 29 of 29
4Montana$50M
39.1
Low 56 of 56
5Washington$43M
52.2
Medium 39 of 39
6Wyoming$38M
42.8
Medium 23 of 23
7Idaho$37M
59.2
Medium 44 of 44
8California$23M
35.9
Low 58 of 58
9Oregon$8M
51.2
Medium 36 of 36
10New Hampshire$5M
36.6
Low 10 of 10
11Nevada$3M
56.8
Medium 17 of 17
12New Mexico$2M
25.7
Low 33 of 33
13New York$485K
27.7
Low 62 of 62
14Vermont$471K
48.4
Medium 14 of 14
15Arizona$463K
44.4
Medium 15 of 15
16West Virginia$302K
40.5
Medium 55 of 55
17Pennsylvania$74K
36.8
Low 67 of 67
18Virginia$71K
18.4
Very Low 133 of 133
19Kentucky$35K
8.6
Very Low 120 of 120
20Maine$16K
29.4
Low 16 of 16
21Massachusetts$4K
13.4
Very Low 14 of 14
22Maryland$2K
8.0
Very Low 24 of 24
23Texas$1K
0.9
Very Low 254 of 254
24Connecticut$815
8.4
Very Low 9 of 9
25New Jersey$593
4.9
Very Low 21 of 21
26South Dakota$15
0.4
Very Low 66 of 66
27District of Columbia$0
0.0
Very Low 1 of 1
28Delaware$0
0.0
Very Low 3 of 3
29Florida$0
0.0
Very Low 67 of 67
30Hawaii$0
0.0
Very Low 5 of 5
31South Carolina$0
0.0
Very Low 46 of 46
32North Carolina$0
0.0
Very Low 100 of 100
33Louisiana$0
0.0
Very Low 64 of 64
34Alabama$0
0.0
Very Low 67 of 67
35Wisconsin$0
0.0
Very Low 72 of 72
36Rhode Island$0
0.0
Very Low 5 of 5
37Oklahoma$0
0.0
Very Low 77 of 77
38Arkansas$0
0.0
Very Low 75 of 75
39Ohio$0
0.0
Very Low 88 of 88
40Illinois$0
0.0
Very Low 102 of 102
41Tennessee$0
0.0
Very Low 95 of 95
42Mississippi$0
0.0
Very Low 82 of 82
43Missouri$0
0.0
Very Low 115 of 115
44Michigan$0
0.0
Very Low 83 of 83
45Indiana$0
0.0
Very Low 92 of 92
46Minnesota$0
0.0
Very Low 87 of 87
47Iowa$0
0.0
Very Low 99 of 99
48Georgia$0
0.0
Very Low 159 of 159
49Kansas$0
0.0
Very Low 105 of 105
50Nebraska$0
0.0
Very Low 93 of 93
51North Dakota$0
0.0
Very Low 53 of 53

States ranked by total expected annual avalanche losses; the average score is the mean over all counties, counting unrated counties as zero.

Riskiest Counties for Avalanche

#CountyStateAvalanche ScoreRatingAnn. Freq.Ann. Loss
1Teton CountyWY
100.0
Very High 2.07 / yr$23M
2Matanuska-Susitna BoroughAK
99.9
Very High 1.33 / yr$15M
3Kenai Peninsula BoroughAK
99.7
Very High 1.03 / yr$10M
4Park CountyMT
99.6
Very High 0.67 / yr$12M
5Copper River Census AreaAK
99.4
Very High 0.83 / yr$6M
6King CountyWA
99.3
Very High 1.07 / yr$11M
7Salt Lake CountyUT
99.1
Very High 1.53 / yr$12M
8Summit CountyCO
99.0
Very High 1.07 / yr$11M
9Pitkin CountyCO
98.8
Very High 1.40 / yr$11M
10Lincoln CountyWY
98.7
Very High 1.47 / yr$8M
11Flathead CountyMT
98.5
Very High 0.50 / yr$9M
12Pierce CountyWA
98.4
Very High 0.90 / yr$9M
13Whatcom CountyWA
98.2
Very High 0.50 / yr$7M
14Summit CountyUT
98.1
Very High 1.53 / yr$10M
15Clear Creek CountyCO
98.0
Very High 0.87 / yr$8M
16Placer CountyCA
97.8
Very High 0.47 / yr$7M
17Kittitas CountyWA
97.7
Very High 0.33 / yr$5M
18Coos CountyNH
97.5
Very High 0.27 / yr$5M
19Madison CountyMT
97.4
Very High 0.40 / yr$6M
20Denali BoroughAK
97.2
Very High 0.50 / yr$6M
21Anchorage MunicipalityAK
97.1
Very High 1.00 / yr$7M
22Blaine CountyID
96.9
Very High 0.50 / yr$6M
23Custer CountyID
96.8
Very High 0.23 / yr$3M
24Gallatin CountyMT
96.6
Very High 0.67 / yr$7M
25Inyo CountyCA
96.5
Very High 0.17 / yr$3M

Showing the top 25 seeded counties for avalanche risk.