Snow conditions 14.2.2014

On Thursday it was partly clear, a southwesterly wind was blowing, creating wind slabs. The freezing level was around 1200 m above sea level, but up to around 2200 m the temperature was around 0 or slightly below zero. In sunny weather, the snow cover was settling and transforming, a crust forming on the surface. On the night into Friday it snowed, below around 800 m it rained. 5 to 25 cm of snow fell, the most in the high mountains of the Julian Alps.



Significant snow cover mostly reaches to around 700 m above sea level. Snow depth is especially variable in the high mountains due to wind. The most snow is above 1800 m in the western Julian Alps, where it exceeds 600 cm, elsewhere in the Julians up to around 450 cm, in the western and central Karawanks and Kamnik-Savinja Alps around 250 cm. At 1500 m it is in the Julians and western Karawanks up to around 360 cm, elsewhere from 120 to 180 cm. The snow is mostly soft and sinks deeply, but in places covered with a crust formed by wind, or where new snow is blown to a crust base. There is much wind-blown snow, on wind-exposed sites the snow is heavily scoured.

Avalanche danger is in the high mountains, in the Julians also lower, 3rd degree, elsewhere in the mid-mountains 2nd degree.

The snow cover is potentially quite unstable. Especially from steep slopes in the high mountains, individual small snow avalanches can still release. You can trigger a snow avalanche quickly even with minor additional load on the snow cover, especially at sites with wind-blown snow and on steeper slopes. The snow cover is somewhat more stable in the mid-mountains especially in the eastern part of our mountains.



Today it will be sunny. The snow cover will settle and transform, on south-oriented slopes the snow on the surface will freeze and refreeze at night. Tomorrow it will cloud over in the morning first in the hills in the west, then also in the Kamnik-Savinja Alps. The southwesterly wind will strengthen, quite strong in the afternoon. It will transport snow and form new wind slabs and cornices.

The freezing level will rise above the highest peaks. The snow cover will freeze and settle faster, but at the same time also destabilize in the high mountains. Therefore, individual avalanches can release again from steep slopes. On Sunday the freezing level will drop below 2200 m.

Initially there will be precipitation in the Julian Alps and hills of western Slovenia and in the western Karawanks, but also elsewhere in the mountains. The snow line will initially be at around 1600 m above sea level and drop to around 1300 m by evening, and on Monday night to the lowlands. On Monday it will snow until late afternoon or evening. Expected to fall in the mountains from 20 to around 50 cm of snow, the most in the west.

On Monday the risk of snow avalanches especially in the Julian Alps and western Karawanks is expected to increase to 4th degree.

The next report on the state of the snow cover will be issued on Monday, 18.2.2014 in the evening.



The general avalanche danger is considerable, i.e. 3rd degree on the European five-degree scale.



Source: ARSO