9.04.2014
On Monday and Tuesday sunny weather prevailed. The snow line was at about 2800 m above sea level. The snow cover softened during the day, froze at night. In lower elevations it melted. By this morning, with the passage of a cold front, 5 to 10 cm of snow fell in the high mountains, the snow line dropped to about 1900 m above sea level.
Significant snow cover reaches on sun-exposed slopes up to about 1400 m a.s.l., in shady areas to about 900 m. Snow depth is quite uneven. Above about 2000 m in the Julian Alps there is snow between 400 and about 600 cm, at 1500 m from 200 to about 300 cm. Elsewhere at 1500 m from 30 to 110 cm of snow, more in the western Karawanks. The snowpack is mostly well transformed. At night the snow freezes and in the morning the snow cover is mostly hard, during the day in sunny weather it mostly softens, only in shade in the high mountains it remains frozen.
Avalanche danger is 1st degree in the morning and part of the forenoon, during the day it slightly increases under the influence of the sun.
The snowpack is mostly stable. The risk slightly increases especially towards noon and in the afternoon on sun-exposed slopes, where due to the sun the snow softens and becomes unstable. Steep slopes are more dangerous. Around midday slab avalanches may release on ridges. Lower down individual ground avalanches of wet snow cover are possible.
On Thursday mostly sunny, midday and afternoon some cirrus clouds and individual peaks may occasionally be in clouds. Possible some minor shower. The snow line will rise slightly above 2000 m. On the night to Friday in eastern and central regions transient light precipitation, in the eastern Karawanks and Kamnik-Savinja Alps up to a couple cm of snow may fall. Avalanche conditions will therefore not change.
The next snowpack report will be issued on Friday, 11.4.2014 in the afternoon.
General avalanche danger is 1st degree on the European five-level scale.
Source: ARSO