Avalanche · BERA
France's official avalanche bulletin, always free in Alpow
In France, the official avalanche bulletin is the BERA (bulletin d'estimation du risque d'avalanche), written by Météo-France forecasters for each mountain massif. The reference place to read it is meteofrance.com. Alpow shows it exactly as Météo-France publishes it, never summarised, free and without an account.
By bonout, publisher of Alpow · published 6 November 2026
What the BERA is
In Météo-France's words (translated from French), its forecasters produce avalanche bulletins (BERA) throughout the season that "describe snow conditions and report the danger of natural and triggered avalanches until the following evening across 35 massifs in the Alps, the Pyrenees and Corsica" (Météo-France, in French).
- Author: Météo-France. Neither Alpow nor any other app writes the bulletin.
- Area: one massif, not a resort, a town or a department. Each massif has its own bulletin.
- Contents: a danger level from 1 to 5 by altitude, the most exposed aspects, snow cover, snow quality, the trend for the next day, and texts written by the forecasters.
- Publication: in season, the bulletin usually comes out in the afternoon for the next day. Out of season, no bulletin is published.
- Language: the bulletin is written in French. Alpow's interface is available in English, but the bulletin text stays Météo-France's original French: Alpow does not translate it.
BERA, Vigilance and observations are three different things
- The BERA estimates avalanche danger per massif, every day of the season.
- Météo-France's avalanche Vigilance is a warning issued per department for exceptional situations, on vigilance.meteofrance.fr. Alpow does not replace it.
- Avalanche observations are avalanches actually seen and dated by observers, for example on data-avalanche.org. They are not a forecast.
Where to read the official bulletin
On meteofrance.com, pick your range, then your massif on the map:
Not sure which massif your route or resort belongs to? The directory of BERA massifs follows Météo-France's official list.
The bulletin in Alpow, unchanged
In the Avalanche tab, or from a resort page, Alpow shows the massif's bulletin:
- danger by altitude, with its official label;
- the aspects and avalanche problems the bulletin reports;
- snow cover by altitude;
- the bulletin texts, quoted word for word and marked as quoted from Météo-France;
- the time of issue, the end of validity, and the link to meteofrance.com.
The text is never summarised, rewritten or translated by an AI. The bulletin is free for everyone, with no account, and will stay that way.
Limits
- When a massif's bulletin is not available, Alpow says "No bulletin" and points to meteofrance.com. It never shows an old level as if it were current.
- When a bulletin is past its validity, Alpow says so.
- Alpow does not tell you whether a slope can be skied without risk, does not predict avalanches and does not approve any route.
- Alpow has no partnership with Météo-France: the app reuses the bulletin's open public data under the Licence Ouverte, credited "Source: Météo-France".
Neither this guide nor Alpow tells you whether a slope can be skied without risk.Alpow does not replace the official bulletin or your own judgement. In the mountains, you are responsible for your decisions.
Readers' questions
Do I pay for the bulletin in Alpow?
No. The avalanche bulletin is free in Alpow, for everyone, without an account.
Can Alpow tell me when a new bulletin is out?
Yes, for the massifs you choose: see avalanche bulletin notifications. They report a publication, not an avalanche.
What about ski touring?
The bulletin, weather forecasts and observations are three separate things: see ski touring: avalanche bulletin and weather.
Sources
- Météo-France: avalanche dangers, how to react and stay informed (in French)
- Météo-France: avalanche danger, Northern Alps (in French)
- Météo-France: public avalanche bulletin API and list of massifs
- Alpow data credits
Find the official bulletin in Alpow
