Saint-Cergue

Considerable avalanche danger will be encountered over a wide area

Considerable avalanche danger will be encountered over a wide area

The fresh wind slabs are mostly small but in some cases prone to triggering. The avalanche prone locations are to be found in particular in gullies and bowls, and behind abrupt changes in the terrain. The wind slabs are to be evaluated with care and prudence in very steep terrain.

The fresh fallen snow is being deposited atop a snowpack surface which is strikingly impacted by wind and sun. From place to place the surface-near layers of snow are prone to triggering. Deeper down inside the snowpack there are weak layers evident. On the northern flank of the Alps these layers are generally blanketed by thick layers of fresher snow and are prone to triggering in isolated cases. From the southern Valais over the northern Ticino as far as Grisons, weak layers in the old snowpack are particularly pronounced and the covering layers are less thick. There, especially on shady slopes, avalanches can be triggered in the weakened old snow by persons. In places where the snow is shallow and in transitions zones from shallow to deep snow, avalanche prone locations occur more frequently.

Following a night of clear skies it was predominantly sunny during the daytime. Fresh snow: - Temperature: At midday at 2000 m, +3 °C. Wind: Winds were blowing at light to moderate strength, at strong velocity from place to place, from westerly directions. On Thursday night, snowfall is expected to set in from the northwest. This precipitation will persist until midday on Friday. The snowfall level will lie at approximately 1000 m. Subsequently, cloud cover will disperse. In the southern regions it will remain dry and be quite sunny. Fresh snow: Between Thursday evening and Friday afternoon: - northern Alpine Ridge: 10 to 20 cm; - remaining parts of the northern flank of the Alps, remaining parts of the Valais: 5 to 15 cm; - in the other regions of Switzerland, less; or else, it will remain dry. Temperature: At midday at 2000 m: -6 °C in the northern regions and -2 °C in the southern regions. Wind: - Winds during the nocturnal hours will be blowing at moderate to strong velocity from westerly directions; - during the daytime in the southern regions and in general at high altitudes, blowing at moderate to strong velocity from northerly directions.

In the northern regions it will be quite sunny on both days, in the southern regions only partly sunny. The wind will be blowing at light to moderate strength from southerly directions; in the Alpine valleys of the north, a foehn wind will be blowing intermittently at moderate strength. Avalanche danger levels are expected to incrementally decrease.