Velocity measurements by means of videogrammetry and pulsed Doppler radar at two selected snow avalanche events are analysed and compared with avalanche simulations. At the test site Vallée de la Sionne (Switzerland) an artificially triggered avalanche was filmed by two synchronised digital video cameras to obtain the front velocity of the avalanche. At the monitoring site Grimming/Multereck (Austria) a spontaneous avalanche was measured by the radar system of the Technical University Graz, which provides valuable velocity records along the avalanche path. The analysis showed that the peak velocity of the simulations within the avalanche track is about 5 m/s lower than observed. However, in the run out zone the measured and calculated values show good correspondence. For this study it was important to apply only the standard parameters to check the level of agreement with the practical application. The objective of this paper is to study the progression of avalanche velocities with the avalanche models SamosAT and ELBA+ in comparison to the field measurements.