Consider the Abelian sandpile measure on $\mathbb{Z}^d$, $d \ge 2$, obtained as the $L \to \infty$ limit of the stationary distribution of the sandpile on $[-L,L]^d \cap \mathbb{Z}^d$. When adding a grain of sand at the origin, some region, called the avalanche cluster, topples during stabilization. We prove bounds on the behaviour of various avalanche characteristics: the probability that a given vertex topples, the radius of the toppled region, and the number of vertices toppled. Our results yield rigorous inequalities for the relevant critical exponents. In $d = 2,$ we show that for any $1 \le k < \infty$, the last $k$ waves of the avalanche have an infinite volume limit, satisfying a power law upper bound on the tail of the radius distribution.