Snow conditions 19.3.2012

On Friday and Saturday the weather was still sunny, but on Sunday it became cloudy. No significant precipitation until this morning.

It has gradually cooled somewhat. Today the freezing level is at around 1600 m. Snow has melted lower down, higher up, especially in the high mountains, it has mostly remained frozen since Sunday.

Avalanche conditions have not changed much since Friday.

The snowpack is mostly covered with a crust that supports human weight.

Not only on wind-packed spots, but also elsewhere the surface is icy. In lower elevations snow does not freeze with cloudy weather.

Significant snowpack extends in shady aspects mostly up to around 1100 m, on sun-exposed slopes it is bare even above 1600 m. At 1500 m elevation the consolidated snowpack is mainly on plateaus and shady aspects. In the Julian Alps there is up to around 40 cm of snow, elsewhere up to around 30 cm. Above 2000 m in the Julian Alps up to around 80 cm of snow. Avalanche danger is level 1. The snowpack is mostly well transformed, but especially in places with wind-drifted snow there are still insufficiently bonded layers deeper down, on which slab avalanches can occur only if the snowpack softens or becomes soaked due to sun and high temperatures. Especially on windward spots and in shaded locations there is also gliding risk.

Today and tomorrow mostly cloudy, especially today and overnight minor, local precipitation. Snow line around 1200 m, freezing level around 1800 m. Due to the cloudier day the sun will not greatly affect the snowpack. Today it will remain mostly frozen, below around 1500 m somewhat softened. Tomorrow there will occasionally be more sun, so on sun-exposed slopes in the afternoon the crust might soften somewhat.

New report will be issued on Wednesday, 21.3.2012.



General avalanche danger is level 1 on the European five-level scale.



Source: ARSO