Snow conditions 16.2.2015
16.02.2015
RISK ASSESSMENT
Avalanche danger is mostly 2nd degree.
The snowpack has stabilized somewhat, but is still potentially unstable locally and poorly bonded to the base. You can trigger an avalanche with greater load on the snowpack. Steeper slopes and areas with wind-blown snow are particularly dangerous.
No spontaneous avalanching is expected.
SNOW CONDITIONS
On Saturday it was mostly cloudy and foggy, in the area of the western and southern parts of the Julian Alps there was light snowfall in places, but less than 10 cm of snow fell. It was sunny on Pohorje and partly in the eastern Karawanks. On Sunday too, it was cloudy and foggy in the Julian Alps. Elsewhere it cleared during the day. Temperatures were all the time below zero or around 0 degrees. The snowpack was slowly transforming, somewhat faster on sun-exposed slopes during sunny weather. The snow depth is quite uneven. At 2500 m above sea level there is snow up to about 180 cm, at 1500 m up to about 100 cm, at 1000 m from 20 to about 60 cm.
CURRENT STATE OF THE SNOWPACK
The snowpack is dry and mostly crusted, on wind-exposed sites and sun-exposed slopes also hard, only in sheltered shady spots is it still soft. During the day on sun-exposed slopes and on mid-mountain plateaus it softens or becomes wet, at night it refreezes. There are many wind slabs and slabs that are still relatively unstable.
Ridges are mostly quite wind-scoured and therefore hard and icy in many places, sometimes the snow is scoured to the bare ground.
FORECAST WEATHER DEVELOPMENT
The freezing level is today at about 1300 m above sea level, tomorrow it will be a bit lower. Today in the mountains it will be partly clear, but there will be considerable cloudiness and fog in many places. The snowpack will today on sun-exposed slopes and in mid-mountain soften during the day, at night refreeze. In places with cloudiness the snow in the mountains will remain frozen.
Tomorrow the weather will be similar, occasionally some sun on higher peaks, the top of cloudiness above 2000 m. Sunny in the western Julian Alps and perhaps in the far west of the Karawanks. Therefore the snow will transform only slowly, mostly remain frozen, except in places with sunny weather where it will soften on sun-exposed slopes during the day.
TENDENCY OF SNOW CONDITIONS
Avalanche conditions in most of our mountains will not change much until mid-week. Especially on sun-exposed slopes the snow will gradually consolidate and stabilize somewhat, in shady spots the transformation will be slow.
On Thursday and Friday the danger may increase with the expected transient warming.
General avalanche danger is 2nd degree on the European five-degree scale.
MODERATE - due to wind-blown snow, slabs and weak layers in the old snowpack.
The next report will be published on Wednesday, 18.2.2015 in the afternoon.
Source: ARSO