Snow conditions 7.10.2021

The danger is level 1 on the European five-level scale - LOW.
Main problem: favourable conditions
Danger pattern: Cooling after warm weather / warming after cold

Risk assessment
Avalanche danger is LOW, level 1.

Snow conditions
It snowed in the mountains up to an elevation of around 1400 m. The most snow fell in the high mountains of the Julian Alps, up to around 40 cm, at 1500 m above sea level there is also around 10 cm elsewhere. The strong north wind blew away a lot of snow. Drifts formed on the south sides of ridges and saddles, wind-exposed locations are completely scoured. The snow is soft, dry above around 2000 m, wet lower down. The freezing level is currently at around 2000 m above sea level.

Expected weather development
In the mountains today it will be cloudy, summits will often be in clouds, lower cloud bases are expected in the eastern and partly central part of our mountains. There will be occasional precipitation, more frequent in the eastern part of our mountains. The snow line will be between 1500 and 2000 m. A strong north wind will blow. Tomorrow it will also be initially cloudy and partly foggy, especially in the morning there will be some minor precipitation in places. In the afternoon the cloud cover will slowly start to break up, more so in the western part of our mountains. The wind will ease somewhat. On Saturday and Sunday it will be sunny, but on Sunday afternoon it will become somewhat cloudy from the east. A moderate northeast wind will continue, with no major temperature changes.

Trend in snow conditions
In the mid-mountains the snow will melt and decrease, in the high mountains it will settle, and due to the low temperatures it will likely remain for longer. In sunny weather some of it will melt on sun-facing slopes, but it will remain in shady hollows, and with daily melting and night-time freezing the surface will become increasingly icy and hard. In the high mountains the conditions are currently wintery and will remain so for quite some time, as no significant warming is expected in the next ten days. Therefore, when visiting the high mountains we recommend caution and appropriate equipment. The risk of slipping will gradually increase, especially in shady locations in the high mountains. THIS IS AN EXTRAORDINARY AVALANCHE REPORT. WE WILL START WITH REGULAR ONES PRESUMABLY ON 15 NOVEMBER OR ACCORDING TO THE SNOW CONDITIONS IN THE MOUNTAINS, IF NECESSARY EVEN EARLIER.

Next issue: Sunday, 10.10.2021

Source: ARSO