Snow conditions 27.11.2014

Dry weather continues for the most part. There is a temperature inversion in the higher elevations. Between about 500 m and 1500 m there is a layer with negative temperatures, above it up to about 2500 m above sea level there is a layer with positive temperatures. The height and thickness of the layers have changed over the last two days.

At 2500 m above sea level, snow depth is about 80 cm in the Julian Alps and about 40 cm elsewhere in our mountains. With lower elevations, the snow cover thickness decreases rapidly; at 1500 m in the Julian Alps it is about 30 cm, elsewhere less.

The snow cover on the surface in shady aspects is mostly dry and soft, on sunny slopes and plateaus mostly covered with a crust that does not hold human weight. On wind-exposed locations, snow is quite wind-packed. During the day, snow softens mostly on sunny slopes.

Avalanche danger is mostly 1st degree.

The snowpack is generally stable; even in the high mountains there is too little snow and no old base that would allow new snow to slide.

Only on steep shady slopes in the high mountains, where some old snow remains, the upper snow layer may slab under heavy load somewhere.



Until Sunday evening it will be cloudy and also foggy. Occasionally light precipitation, especially in the western and southern parts of the Julian Alps. The snow line will be quite high, mostly above about 2100 m.

On Sunday evening, precipitation will begin to intensify and by Monday morning the snow line will drop below 1000 m, with 10 to over 20 cm of snow possible in the mountains, even more in the western Julian Alps.

It will snow on a partly crusted base, so the avalanche risk will increase somewhat, especially in the Julian Alps, by Monday morning.

The next report will be published on Monday, 1.12.2014.



General avalanche danger is 1st degree on the European five-level scale.



Source: ARSO