Colorado Avalanche Information Center warns of increased avalanche danger over MLK holiday weekend

The Colorado Avalanche Information Center has issued a special avalanche advisory for the mountains over the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend. Experts are warning of dangerous avalanche conditions in Colorado's mountains.

The CAIC said there have been deadly avalanche accidents around MLK weekend in four of the last 12 years in Colorado. 

"The avalanche danger is going to be higher and avalanche conditions are going to be trickier this coming weekend than what we've seen in the last few weeks," said CAIC Director Ethan Greene in a statement. "It's been a dry winter in Colorado, and we're all excited that we are finally getting some snow. This holiday weekend, a lot of people will be getting out and into the mountains, and there are lots of great, safe places to go. We want people to check the avalanche forecast and make a plan that keeps them off of the dangerous slopes." 

According to the CAIC, Colorado has had an unusual period of low avalanche danger last month and so far this month. The advisory explains that new snow and winds through the holiday weekend will increase the avalanche danger across Colorado. Very dangerous avalanche conditions will develop in some regions with the most dangerous conditions developing in the middle of the weekend. 

Experts believe it will be easy to trigger large, widely-breaking avalanches capable of burying a person and that conditions will be more dangerous than they have been in weeks, so travel plans should be adjusted.