Snow conditions in the mountains 7.1.2013

At the end of the week, it was mostly sunny and quite warm weather in the mountains. A strengthened north wind was blowing, which in the high mountains also created some wind slabs. The snow cover softened during the day, only really high up did the snow remain dry or frozen. The snow settled and transformed and stabilized. At night the snow froze and a crust formed.

The snow cover extends to an altitude of about 1100 m. The snow is mostly covered with a crust, only in shady locations in the high mountains is it still soft in places. The amount of snow is very uneven. In many places the snow is completely blown away or there is very little of it. The largest areas with drifted snow are on the southern and southwestern sides of ridges and passes. At 2500 m in the Julijci there is about 130 cm of snow, at 1500 m about 40 cm. Elsewhere in our mountains there is snow at 1500 m from 15 to less than 30 cm.

The avalanche danger in the high mountains above about 2000 m is level 2, lower down it is level 1. Steeper slopes and places with drifted snow are dangerous, where with greater additional load you can trigger a snow slab avalanche. In places where the snow is blown away, there is also a risk of slipping on icy surfaces.

Dry or mostly dry weather will continue. Today during the day it will cool in the heights, the freezing level will drop below 500 m above sea level, but already tomorrow warmer air will flow to us again and by midweek the freezing level will already be at an altitude of about 1500 m.

It will remain so warm until Friday. Avalanche conditions will not change much, the snow cover will continue to stabilize slowly and melt lower down.

A new report will be issued on Friday, 11.1.2013.



The general avalanche danger is moderate, i.e., level 2 on the European five-level scale.



Source: ARSO