The Scottish Avalanche Information Service (SAIS) is a publicly funded forecasting and information service that provides daily assessments of avalanche hazard in Scotland’s mountainous regions during the winter season. Operating across six forecast areas—the Northern Cairngorms, Southern Cairngorms, Glencoe, Lochaber, Creag Meagaidh, and Torridon—SAIS delivers free, publicly accessible avalanche forecasts to support informed decision-making by winter mountain users.
SAIS was established in the early 1990s following a series of fatal avalanches in the Scottish Highlands during the late 1980s, which highlighted the need for a coordinated national approach to avalanche hazard assessment and communication. Since its inception, the service has evolved into a nationally recognised mountain safety resource, shaped by advances in snow science and the particular challenges of Scotland’s highly variable maritime snow climate.
Operationally, SAIS is delivered by a small team of professional avalanche forecasters, 18 people, who conduct daily field observations throughout the winter forecasting season, typically from December to April. These observations entail traveling through the mountains on foot or ski, and include snowpack profiling, stability testing, and weather monitoring in order to establish the distribution of snowpack instabilities in the mountain landscape.
Supported by specialist meteorological forecasts (fig 4) provided by the Met Office, daily avalanche forecasts are published online and communicated using the European Avalanche Danger Scale. The avalanche reports contain supplementary information on prevailing avalanche problems (Fig 3), affected aspects and elevations, and practical travel advice tailored to Scottish conditions.
SAIS is a full member of the European Avalanche Warning Services (EAWS), aligning its forecasting practices, terminology, and hazard communication with international standards and facilitating professional exchange across Europe. As part of this engagement, Mark Diggins, long-time SAIS coordinator (2009-2025) and senior forecaster, has served on the EAWS Technical Advisory Board (TAB), a body that guides the service’s working groups and contributes to the development and harmonisation of avalanche forecasting standards across EAWS members. In this role, Diggins has participated in high-level discussions on risk communication and danger scale frameworks that influence how avalanche danger is assessed and communicated throughout Europe, contributing Scottish expertise to collective efforts on common methodologies, warning content, and professional cooperation within EAWS.
In terms of public reach, SAIS forecasts are widely used by mountaineers, climbers, ski tourers, hillwalkers, instructors, and mountain professionals, as well as by organisations involved in outdoor education, guiding, and emergency response. Typically reaching up to approximately 1 million users per season, with around 75% of users accessing Mountain Info /Blogs and with 25-30% accessing avalanche reports.
Through daily forecasting, public engagement, education, and long-term monitoring of snow and avalanche trends, SAIS plays a central role in improving winter mountain safety awareness and understanding of evolving avalanche hazards in Scotland.
Mark Diggins SAIS 2025
You can access further information on the Scottish Avalanche Information Service on their website.
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