Chiemgau Alps East

Wet-snow and glide-snow avalanches particularly to be expected at low and intermediate altitudes

Wet-snow and glide-snow avalanches particularly to be expected at low and intermediate altitudes

The main problem is the wet snow. At all altitudes and in all aspects, wet loose-snow and slab avalanches can trigger naturally. Wet-snow avalanche activity will increase slightly during the course of the day on Tuesday. In addition, naturally triggered glide-snow avalanches can be expected over smooth, steep grass-covered slopes in all aspeccts at any time of day or night. Avalanches can be of small or medium size. At high altitudes in the Allgäu, even large avalanches cannot be ruled out. Zones below glide cracks should be avoided. Above 1600 m the snowdrifts from recent days are triggerable, particularly by large additional loading, the releases can grow to medium size slab avalanches. Avalanche prone locations are found in wind-loaded gullies and bowls and behind protruberances in the landscape. The tend to increase in frequency and size with ascending altitude. In isolated spots at high altitude, avalanches can also grow to large size when more deeply embedded layers inside the snowpack are triggered.

Clear nocturnal skies on Monday night will make the moist snowpack surface freeze to form a melt-freeze crust. This will then soften during the day on Tuesday and the snowpacl will forfeit its firmness. Also the base of the snowpack is moist-to-wet at low to intermediate altitudes, which furthers gliding movement of the snowpack. Snowdrifts of recent days are bonding increasingly well with the snowpack, due to the warmth. Trigger-sensitive layers of expansively metamorphosed (faceted) crystals are evident in some places aboe 1600 m near crusts and, at high altitudes, at ground level. The crusts also tend to serve as water-preserving layers.

The danger of dry-snow slab avalanches will continue to diminish. The wet-snow problem will persist.