Snow conditions 26.2.2014

On Monday and Tuesday, it was mostly sunny weather even in the mountains. The freezing level was between 1200 and 1500 m. The snow cover was transforming and settling faster, especially on sun-exposed slopes and plateaus. It froze overnight. The surface crust strengthened. There were few spontaneous avalanches.



The snow cover mostly extends to about 700 m above sea level.

Snow depth is especially variable in the high mountains due to wind.

The most snow is above 1800 m in the western Julian Alps, where it exceeds 700 cm, elsewhere in the Julians up to about 550 cm, in the western and central Karawanks and Kamnik-Savinja Alps around 320 cm. At 1500 m in the Julians and western Karawanks up to about 340 cm, elsewhere from 110 to 160 cm. The snow is mostly covered with a crust that mainly still breaks under human weight.

Only in the gullies of the high mountains is it soft. There is a lot of wind-blown snow and slabs. On wind-exposed sites, the snow is heavily scoured.

Avalanche danger is still 3rd degree mainly in the high Julian Alps, lower down and elsewhere in our mountains 2nd degree.

The snow cover has already stabilized somewhat more.

Spontaneous avalanching, except in exceptional cases, is generally not expected.

You can trigger a snow avalanche in the high mountains already with minor snow cover loading, lower down the snow cover is more stable and requires greater snow cover loading. Especially dangerous are steep slopes and sites with wind-blown snow.



It will gradually become cloudy in the mountains, only in the east less cloudiness. Freezing level between 1200 and 1500 m. The snow cover will transform somewhat more slowly. In the high mountains, the snow cover condition will not change much until Friday, lower down the surface crust will strengthen somewhat more.

The next report on snow cover conditions will be issued on Friday, 28.2.2014 in the morning.



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



Source: ARSO