Mountain Conditions 22.12.2010

Yesterday and last night it was mostly cloudy and foggy.

Especially in the Julian Alps, western Karavanke and western Savinja Alps there was light rain and snow. The snow line rose to around 1500 m, the freezing level to around 1900 m. 5 to 10 cm of snow fell. Lower down, the snow settled and melted.

In the Julian Alps there is up to about 330 cm of snow at 2500 m, and up to about 130 cm at 1500 m. Elsewhere in our mountains there is up to about 60 cm of snow at 1500 m. Lower down there is considerably less snow, at 1000 m it is bare in many places. The snow cover above about 1900 m is soft and loose, on wind-exposed spots it is wind-packed down to the old, partly icy base. There are many slabs and wind slabs. Lower down the snow is wet, with harder old snow underneath.

The avalanche danger is currently at level 2. On steeper slopes and areas with wind-blown snow, small avalanches of partially bonded snow can be triggered by additional stress. Due to rain, the possibility of slab avalanches below 1600 m on steep grassy slopes has increased. On wind-scoured spots in the high mountains, there is a risk of gliding due to the icy surface.

Today and tomorrow it will be cloudy and foggy with occasional precipitation. It will be dry in the eastern Karavanke and on Pohorje, also in the eastern part of the Savinja Alps there will mostly be no precipitation. Elsewhere the snow line will be between 1500 and 1900 m. In the high mountains of the Julian Alps up to more than half a meter of snow will fall by Friday morning. Lower down, where it will rain, the snow will settle and melt, increasing the possibility of full-depth avalanches of wet snow. Higher up, the danger will increase due to the larger amount of new snow.

The next report will be issued on Friday, December 24.



The general avalanche danger is moderate, i.e. level 2 on the European five-level scale.



Source: ARSO