Snow conditions 24.1.2022

General danger level - Monday, 24.1.2022
Danger is level 1 on the European five-level scale - LOW.
Main problem: wind-drifted snow
Danger pattern: Cooling after warm weather / thawing after frost

Risk assessment
Avalanche danger is mostly LOW. Especially in wind-exposed places, there is high RISK OF GLIDING. The snow cover is mostly stable. Only on steep, shady slopes in the high mountains have individual untransformed or poorly transformed slabs remained, where under greater load on the snow cover you can trigger a small slab avalanche.

Snow conditions
The period of dry weather continues. At the end of the week, the weather in the mountains was partly clear. On exposed places, especially on Saturday, a strong northwesterly wind blew, which occasionally transported old snow. In the shade, the snow is hard or dry, with some powder snow in places. Wind-exposed locations are heavily scoured, even to bare ground. More pronounced slabs are mainly in shady locations; on southern ones, the snow is already more bonded to the ground. Especially in the mid-mountains, there are many bare spots on sun-facing slopes.

Forecast weather development
Today it will be mostly cloudy and foggy in places. Some sunshine in the morning in the western Julian Alps, in the afternoon it will also cloud over there somewhat. In the Kamnik-Savinja Alps and further east, there will be occasional light snowfall at first. Mostly moderate wind will blow, occasionally strong northerly wind in the high mountains. Temperature at 1500 m will be around midday from -3 to -7, colder in the east, at 2500 m around -8 °C. On Tuesday and Wednesday, mostly clear. Weak to moderate northerly wind will blow. Temperature at 1500 m will be around midday from -2 to 3, colder in the east, at 2500 m around -4 °C. Zero isotherm will be at about 1700 m above sea level. On Thursday, moderately clouding over. Moderate westerly to northwesterly wind will blow. A degree or so warmer.

Trend in snow conditions
Snow conditions will not change significantly in the coming days either. Due to thawing, the snow cover on sun-facing slopes will become moist during the day and freeze at night. In shady locations, the snow will remain mostly hard and frozen. There will still be a high risk of gliding. The snow cover will be mostly stable, only in shady locations in the high mountains will there still be individual, potentially less stable slabs. The next avalanche bulletin will be published on Wednesday, 22.1.2022.

Next issue: Wednesday, 26.1.2022

Source: ARSO