Аннотация:The possibility of assessing the avalanche hazard in the North Caucasus mountains with the use ofthe data of modern Era-Interim, SCSR, and NCEP-NCAR reanalyses is considered. The data have been previouslycompared with the materials of weather stations (average seasonal values of the surface temperatureand precipitation). The avalanche hazard was estimated with the use of a correlation matrix, which is basedon a relationship between the avalanche hazard characteristic and the standard deviations of the seasonal valuesof temperature and precipitation. The synoptic processes that increase the probability of catastrophic avalancheswere identified. The anomalously high avalanche hazard was shown to form at a negative anomaly ofair temperature at land surface and in higher air layers at an integral moisture content of the atmosphere closeto the norm.