Snow conditions 21.3.2014

This week the weather has been very warm. The freezing level has been mostly above the highest peaks. The air has been dry. The snow cover has been melting during the day and refreezing at night, except at lower elevations. However, in the high-altitude gullies, the snow has not softened much even during the day. Lower down, the snow has been melting quickly, especially on sunny slopes.



The snow cover reaches to an elevation of about 800 m, on south-facing slopes to about 1400 m. Snow depth is quite uneven.

The most snow above 1800 m is in the western Julian Alps, where it reaches up to about 600 cm in places, elsewhere in the Julians at higher elevations up to about 400 cm, in the central Karawanks and Kamnik-Savinja Alps up to about 180 cm. At 1500 m it is up to about 270 cm in the Julians and western Karawanks, elsewhere 60 to 100 cm. The snow cover is mostly refrozen at night and in the morning, crusty in the high mountains, hard lower down, and at lower elevations it does not refreeze even at night. During the day the snow cover mostly softens, except in shady high-altitude locations where this effect is smaller.

Avalanche danger is mostly level 2.

The snowpack is moderately stable. Problematic areas remain primarily steep high-altitude gullies with wind-blown snow, and during the day instability of the snow cover increases on south-facing slopes, where the snow layer softens and on steeper slopes under load it can slide over somewhat harder lower layers, especially with additional load. Some wet snow slab can still release spontaneously. At night the snow cover is more stable.



Today it will still be sunny and quite warm, so avalanche conditions will not change. Tomorrow it will cloud over in the Julian Alps and Karawanks, and also partly in the Kamnik-Savinja Alps. Minor precipitation is expected mainly in the western Julians, very little elsewhere in the Julians and in the western Karawanks. It will cool somewhat, the snow line will be between 1400 and 1700 m. The southwesterly will transport new snow into wind slabs in the high Julian mountains.

On Sunday it will be cloudy and foggy with precipitation. The snow line will lower, gradually also below 1000 m. More precipitation will be in the western part of our mountains, where 20 to over 40 cm of snow will accumulate by Monday morning, less elsewhere. The amount of snow will largely depend on elevation. On Monday morning 0 degrees at elevation around 1000 m.

Due to the new snow, the possibility of triggering avalanches will increase mainly on Sunday in the Julian Alps, less elsewhere. South and southwesterly winds will form new wind slabs. The new snow is expected to bond relatively well to the old base, except somewhat weaker bonding in the high mountains. Primarily steep slopes and areas with wind-blown snow will become more dangerous.

The next report on snowpack conditions will be issued on Monday, 24.3.2014 in the morning.



General avalanche danger is level 2 on the European five-level scale.



Source: ARSO