Snow conditions in the mountains 23.2.2011

On Friday, Saturday and most of Sunday the weather in the mountains was dry. It gradually cooled down and the freezing level dropped to around 500 m above sea level by Sunday. On Sunday evening light snow began to fall, but by Monday morning only up to 5 cm of snow had fallen. The snow cover transformed on sunny slopes on Friday and Saturday, becoming wet during the day, freezing at night, and a surface crust strengthened. In shaded areas the transformation was slower.

In the Julian Alps at 2500 m there is up to about 360 cm of snow, at 1500 m about 140 cm. Elsewhere in our mountains at 1500 m there is about 30 cm of snow. The thin snow cover extends to the lowlands. The snow is mostly covered with a crust that does not bear human weight. In gullies the snow is still soft in places. On the crust there are a couple of centimetres of new snow.

On wind-exposed sites the snow cover is quite wind-packed down to a hard, partly icy base.

Avalanche danger in the Julian Alps and western Karawanks is locally still 3rd degree, elsewhere 1st to 2nd degree.

Dangerous are mainly places with drifted snow and steeper slopes. In the Julian Alps and western Karawanks individual medium-sized avalanches of new, dry snow can still be triggered from sufficiently steep slopes. Mostly, however, the avalanche is triggered under additional load from a hiker or skier.

Cold weather will continue. Temperature in the mountains will remain below zero all the time. Dry until Saturday. In the high mountains, initially also lower, a strengthened northerly wind will blow, but it will not create major new drifts. The snow cover will slowly transform and settle and avalanche danger will gradually decrease.

The next report will be issued on Friday, 25 February.



General avalanche danger is moderate, i.e. 2nd degree on the European five-level scale.



Source: ARSO