Snow conditions in the mountains 7.2.2013

In the night to Wednesday and on Wednesday, it was cloudy with precipitation.

The snow line was initially at about 1500 m, but already on Wednesday morning it dropped to the lowlands. By evening, 15 to locally over 30 cm of snow fell in the mountains, depending on altitude and geographical location. There was more precipitation in the western part of our mountains.

During the snowfall, a moderate to strong wind blew initially from the southwest, later from the north, which carried the new snow into drifts. In the high mountains, the new snow was dry and therefore adhered poorly to the base, below about 1700 m it was initially wet or it rained, in some places there was also some graupel, so there the snow did not adhere well to the old base.

Already during the snowfall, avalanches of unbound snow were triggered, lower down also ground avalanches from snow soaked by rain. By today, the snow has not settled much yet.

The snow cover mainly extends to the valleys. The snow is quite blown and tossed, so the snow conditions are very different and change over relatively small distances. In some places it is soft and light, elsewhere harder due to wind, in some places blown down to a hard base.

Extensive are areas of wind-packed snow, new cornices have formed. At 2500 m in the Julian Alps, there is up to about 270 cm of snow, at 1500 m up to about 190 cm. Elsewhere in our mountains, there is 50 to about 100 cm of snow at 1500 m. At 1000 m, the snow cover is thick up to about 45 cm.

The avalanche danger is still mostly level 3, below about 1200 m up to level 2. The greatest danger is posed by numerous places with wind-blown snow, especially on steeper slopes, where you can trigger an avalanche even with a small load on the snow cover. Possible are also still spontaneous avalanches of dry, partially bound snow from steep slopes.

Until including Sunday, it will be partly clear and mostly dry.

Temperatures will be below freezing all the time, above 1500 m below -10. The wind will be mostly weak, mainly from northern to eastern directions.

The snow cover will only slowly settle and transform.

On Monday, it will become cloudy, the southwestern wind will strengthen.

Warmer air will flow in, mainly in the afternoon precipitation will already be possible, which is expected to continue also in the middle of the week.

The new report will be issued on Monday, 11.2.2013



The general avalanche danger is level 3 on the European five-level scale.



Source: ARSO