Reanalysis sheds lights on 1916 avalanche disaster

One of the worst meteorological disasters in history took place in the southeastern Alps during the infamous winter of 1916/17. Avalanches following a massive snowfall event killed thousands of soldiers as well as civilians. Today’s numerical techniques open up new possibilities to study this historical event. Combining historical measurements with reanalyses and dynamical downscaling makes it possible to reconstruct weather even down to local scales and thus to the scale captured by historical documents on weather impacts.