Comment on “Hydrometeorological Triggers of Periglacial Debris Flows in the Zermatt Valley (Switzerland) Since 1864” by Michelle Schneuwly‐Bollschweiler and Markus Stoffel

Generalizing properties of samples derived via data analysis to advance understanding of underlying processes constitutes the essence of statistical inference. This is especially true in geophysical research, where general findings often emerge from case studies. Consequently, statements about trends in case studies should naturally be grounded on a comprehensive and robust analysis of available data. Here, we focus on trends reported for a debris flow time series of a well‐known case study in the Zermatt Valley, Switzerland (Schneuwly‐Bollschweiler & Stoffel, 2012; https://doi.org/10.1029/2011jf002262 ). We elaborate that we were not able to confirm the findings of the original study with respect to changes in debris flow seasonality. On the contrary, we show that confusion between data analytic question types (exploratory vs. inferential) can lead to the confirmation of trends that do not necessarily hold beyond the data set, and we demonstrate how the reported effect could be an artifact of incomplete data. In doing so we employ a range of methods that can be used for adequately addressing the original question.