Snow conditions 22.1.2014

In recent days, the mountains have mostly experienced dry and quite cloudy weather. The freezing level was initially still above 1500 m, today it is already around 1300 m above sea level. The snow cover, which was previously quite soaked and wet, has mostly frozen, only in the high mountains above around 2000 m the snow remained soft. There has been no more significant avalanching, the snow cover has settled somewhat and stabilized.



The most snow is above 2000 m in the western Julian Alps, where it exceeds 350 cm, elsewhere in the Julians up to around 300 cm, in the higher elevations of the Karawanks and Kamnik-Savinja Alps locally around 200 cm.

At 1500 m it is up to around 140 cm in the Julians, elsewhere less. The snow is mostly frozen and crusted, above around 2000 m light and soft. There are many wind slabs, in wind-exposed higher elevations the snow is quite scoured, there is also crust in places in the high mountains.

Avalanche danger is 3rd degree in the high mountains, elsewhere on areas with settled snow cover 1st to 2nd degree, depending on the snow amount.

The snow cover is potentially unstable and can release with minor additional stress. Steep slopes and places with drifted snow are particularly dangerous. Spontaneous releases will be few.



Today mostly dry, some sun in the hills too. Tomorrow cloudy, especially in the Julians and hills of Notranjska and northern Primorska occasional precipitation. Snow level around 1000 m a.s.l. In the night to Friday precipitation will spread eastwards and intensify, snow level will drop. By Friday morning up to 10-20 cm snow may fall in hills of western Slovenia above around 1000 m, elsewhere up to 10 cm.

Avalanche danger will not increase substantially. New snow will fall onto crusted surface, so bond to old surface relatively weak.

Next report on snowpack conditions issued on Friday, 24.1.2014.



General avalanche danger is 3rd degree on the European 5-level scale.



Snow depth:

295 cm Kredarica (2515 m)

145 cm Vogel (1540 m)

19 cm Krvavec (1740 m)



Source: ARSO