Snow conditions in the mountains 3.5.2011

Over the weekend, the snowline in the mountains rose to altitudes between 2000 and 2500 m. Occasional local showers brought a few centimeters of new snow to some high mountain areas, otherwise the snow slowly melted and disappeared, except in the highest parts of our mountains.

In the Julian Alps, there is up to about 285 cm of snow at 2500 m, and up to about 10 cm at 1500 m. South-facing slopes are bare even higher.

Elsewhere in our mountains, snow at 1500 m remains only in some gullies.

South-facing slopes are bare even above 2000 m. The snow cover is mostly well transformed, except in shaded high mountain locations.

Especially above about 2000 m altitude, the snow is frozen, and due to occasionally cloudier weather, it can remain hard all day.

Avalanche danger is level 1. The snow is stable.

In the morning and part of the forenoon, the surface is hard with a risk of slipping; in the higher parts of the high mountains, the surface is hard all day.

The weather will stabilize only in the second half of the week.

Today, Tuesday, there will be local precipitation; tonight it will cool markedly, the snow level will drop from around 2200 m at the end of precipitation in the first half of the night to about 1300 m above sea level.

On Wednesday and Thursday, only isolated showers may form, snowy above about 1400 m. Locally, due to some new snow, the surface snowpack characteristics will change slightly. The snowline will be at altitudes between 1500 and 1900 m. Snow will continue melting lower down, while in the high mountains the situation will not change much. It will gradually warm up only towards the weekend.

The next report will be issued on Friday, May 6, 2011.



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



Source: ARSO