Snow conditions 17.1.2014

On Wednesday and Thursday it was partly clear in the mountains with occasional increased cloudiness especially on Thursday, when clouds were already gathering in the west. A strengthened southwesterly wind was blowing, carrying snow and creating wind slabs on the northern and eastern sides of ridges and passes. The snow line was on Wednesday still around 1600 m, on Thursday at about 1300 m altitude. By today it has risen to 1500 m. The snowpack has been settling and slowly transforming. Last night it started snowing lightly in the west, the snow line is currently at around 1000 m altitude. By morning up to 10 cm of snow fell in the western and southern parts of the Julians.

The most snow is in the western Julian Alps, up to about 290 cm, elsewhere in the Julians up to about 240, in higher parts of the Karawanks and Kamnik-Savinja Alps locally around 140 cm. At 1500 m in the Julians up to about 130 cm, elsewhere less. The snow is mostly soft and sinks deeply. There are many wind slabs, on wind-exposed terrain the snow is quite wind-packed.

Avalanche danger is 3 in areas with consolidated snowpack, only in lower altitudes where there is less snow, 1.

The snowpack is potentially unstable and can release even with minor additional stress. Especially steeper slopes and areas with drifted snow are dangerous. We also expect spontaneous release of small and medium-sized avalanches from sufficiently steep slopes.

From today until Monday morning, precipitation will be frequent.

The most will be in the Julians and in the hills of northern Primorska. The snow line will rise today to around 1200 m altitude, tomorrow between 1200 and 1600 m. By Monday morning almost a meter of snow could fall in the Bovec area, elsewhere from 20 to about 40 cm, in the eastern Karawanks and on Pohorje from 5 to about 10 cm. A southwesterly wind will transport the new snow into slabs and build cornices. In the Julian Alps, western Karawanks and Kamnik-Savinja Alps the avalanche danger will increase, in the western Julians probably to 4 on Sunday.

We also expect spontaneous avalanching. Visiting the high mountains will therefore be dangerous.

The next snowpack report will be issued on Monday, 20.1.2014.



General avalanche danger is 3 on the European five-level scale.



Snow depth:

225 cm Kredarica (2515 m)

130 cm Vogel (1540 m)

18 cm Krvavec (1740 m)

6 cm Rateče (864 m)



Source: ARSO