Snow conditions 30.11.2023

General hazard level - Thursday, 30.11.2023
Hazard is level 1 on the European five-level scale - LOW.
Main problem: new snow, wind-blown snow
Danger pattern: Cooling after warm weather / warming after frost
Danger pattern: Cold weather, poorly bonded fresh snow with wind

Risk assessment
Avalanche danger is LOW, level 1. Conditions in the mountains are changing rapidly. Avalanche danger will increase, first due to new snow and gradual transition to rain, on Saturday due to rapid cooling and new amounts of snow as well as strong wind.

Snow conditions
Snow is falling on the hard and partly icy old snow cover in the mountains, so there will be a weak layer under the new snow. The old snow cover starts above around 1800 m, at 2500 m above sea level there is about 40 cm of snow in the Julians, elsewhere less.

Forecast weather development
Today cloudy and foggy with precipitation. The snow line will rise above 2000 m above sea level overnight to Friday. A strong southwesterly will blow. Tomorrow, Friday, cloudy and foggy with frequent precipitation, snow above around 2300 m. Southwesterly will still blow. On Saturday cloudy and foggy, precipitation will spread from the north towards the south. The snow line will drop rapidly in the morning and it may snow in many lowlands in the afternoon. Strengthened wind from northern directions will blow. On Sunday mostly clear and cold, the northerly wind will gradually weaken. Also on Monday dry and cold weather.

Tendency of snow conditions
This afternoon in the mid-mountains it will start raining on the new snow, higher up snow will accumulate, the southwesterly will create drifts. Tomorrow the boundary between these two forms of precipitation will be even higher. Below the snow line, below around 2300 m, wet new snow may slide from steeper slopes, higher up avalanches of poorly bonded new snow will be possible. On Saturday the amount of new snow will increase rapidly due to expected heavy precipitation, the snow line will drop. The time course of both the amount of precipitation and the snow line cannot yet be predicted more accurately. FOR NOW WE ADVISE AGAINST VISITING THE MOUNTAINS ABOVE THE FOREST LINE DUE TO DEMANDING WEATHER AND SNOW CONDITIONS. New bulletin will be issued tomorrow, Friday, 1.12.2023.

Next publication: Friday, 3. 3. 2023

Source: ARSO