Snow conditions 26.12.2013

It was cloudy in the mountains, a strong southwesterly wind was blowing, precipitation was quite unevenly distributed. By Thursday morning above 1500 m in the mountains, 10 to 60 cm had fallen, in places in the Julians and Karawanks, especially in the Posočje high mountains also over 1 m of snow. Locally in the western Julians even much more snow may have fallen.

Total snow cover is thus in the high Julian Alps from 80 to 150, locally around 200 cm, in higher parts of the Karawanks and Kamnik-Savinja Alps locally up to about 1 m of snow. At 1500 m across the mountains from 20 to about 60 cm. Significant snow cover on sun-exposed slopes starts at around 1300 m above sea level, in shaded locations much lower.

New snow in lower elevations is wet and heavy. It snowed mostly on a crusted and hardened base, so the bond between old and new snow is weak. There is much wind-drifted snow, wind slabs are also forming on leeward slopes.

Avalanche danger has increased to 4 (on the European five-level scale).

Today, Thursday, precipitation will intensify somewhat, in the night to Friday it will weaken from the west and on Friday morning occur only in the eastern part of our mountains. The snow line will initially be around 1300 m above sea level, but will gradually drop to around 800 m. Wind will decrease. By Friday morning another 30 to 50 cm, locally around 80 cm of snow may fall in the Julian Alps and western Karawanks, somewhat less in the Savinja Alps, eastern Karawanks and Pohorje, where it will continue snowing on Friday, with the snow line then dropping to around 500 m above sea level.

Especially above 1500 m avalanche danger will remain high, in the Julian Alps and western Karawanks this limit will probably be around 1300 m. On sufficiently steep slopes an avalanche can be triggered by a small load. Spontaneous release of numerous small and in places also larger avalanches is possible.



General avalanche danger is high, i.e. 4 on the European five-level scale.



Source: ARSO