Relating meteorological variables to the natural slab avalanche regime in High Arctic Svalbard

► Traffic is affected by natural dry slab avalanches in Longyearbyen, Svalbard. ► No avalanche forecasting system is operating, but the number of casualties increases. ► We analyzed the suitability of 4 met. variables to discriminate avalanche days. ► Precipitation and snowdrift 24, 48, 72 h prior to an avalanche day performed best.