Loud noises cannot trigger avalanches, as they occur when a fragile layer of snow is covered by a more compact one. Snow safety teams use dynamite to create the necessary vibration. Snowflakes can be identical, Syracuse made snow “illegal” in 1991, and 100 meters of snow fell in Capracotta in 2015.
Anyone who has spent time watching action movies has seen the heart-pounding moment when a loud noise – a gunshot or a woman’s scream, for example – sends a shock wave up the side of a mountain, triggering a life-threatening avalanche. The truth is, no matter how hard you yodel, howl, or scream, you can’t move a mountainside. Slab avalanches in fact occur when a fragile layer of snow is covered by a more compact one, and therefore a vibration causes the collapse of the whole. To force an avalanche, snow safety teams use dynamite to create the vibration they need. Researchers tried to get the same results from loud sounds, including using a megaphone, but ended up having to pack it up: The snow didn’t budge. According to the Utah Avalanche Center, even low-flying aircraft and sonic booms can’t shake things up enough to cause an avalanche.
What you don’t know about snow:
In 1988, scientist Nancy Knight used a microscope to prove that two snowflakes really can be identical.
Syracuse, New York made snow “illegal” in 1991 after being hit by 4.1 inches (162.5 m) that winter; another two inches (5 cm) fell two days later.
In March 2015, 100 meters of snow fell in Capracotta, Italy in just 2.5 hours.
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