Waadtländer Voralpen

Snowpack

As a result of the mild temperatures and the only partly clear night, the snowpack is only freezing to the point at which it is capable of bearing loads above approximately 2400 m. It has become thoroughly wet up to around 3000 m on south- and west-facing slopes, up to around 2500 m on east-facing slopes and up to approximately 2200 m on north-facing slopes. Owing to the warmth and the diffuse solar radiation, this moistening process in the snowpack is advancing rapidly at higher altitudes, where weak layers are becoming wet for the first time and therefore are becoming unstable. As the day progresses, wet and gliding avalanches, including large ones, are to be expected.

Dry snow can now only be found on steep north-facing slopes above approximately 2600 m. Very few human-triggered avalanches have been reported in recent days.

Weather forecast until Monday, 08.04.2024

As a result of at times denser high patches of cloud, there will be reduced outgoing longwave radiation during the night, and it will be a partly sunny day. Visibility will be obscured by Sahara dust. It will remain very mild.

New snow

-

Temperature

• At midday at 2000 m, between +13 °C in the north and +9 °C in the south.
• The zero-degree level will be approximately 3600 m.

Wind

• There will be increasingly strong southerly winds, with a foehn wind in the valleys of the north.
• There will be moderate southerly winds in the south.

Weather review for Sunday, 07.04.2024

Due to high clouds and Saharan dust, there was reduced radiation during the night, and only in the east was it sunny at times during the day. It was again very mild.

New snow

-

Temperature

At midday at 2000 m, around +12 °C.

Wind

• There were moderate, and in Lower Valais during the night sometimes strong, southwesterly winds.
• There was a foehn wind at times in the valleys of the north.

Trend until Wednesday, 10.04.2024Tuesday

Monday night into Tuesday will be mostly overcast in the northwest and clear at times in the southeast. On Tuesday, it will remain sunny for longer in Grisons; elsewhere it will be mostly cloudy. A cold front from the west will bring precipitation, but it is not yet clear how much. The snowfall level will drop rapidly to 1400 m in the west. By the early morning, there will be sometimes storm-force southerly winds, and there will be a foehn wind in the valleys of the north.

The precipitation will increase the danger of dry avalanches somewhat in the west, and slightly in the east on north-facing slopes in the high Alpine regions with drifting snow. In Grisons, the danger of wet avalanches will once again increase appreciably with the sunny weather during the day. Gliding avalanches are still to be expected and, especially in the snowy south, may occasionally also become very large.

Wednesday

There will widely be precipitation during Tuesday night into Wednesday, with the snowfall level also dropping to around 1400 m in the east. A strong foehn wind from the north will blow in the south. On Wednesday, it will be mostly sunny in the west and south; it will remain cloudy elsewhere. The wind will turn to the east.

The danger of dry avalanches will widely increase during the night. As a result of solar radiation, moist snow slides from the new snow are to be expected during the day. Gliding avalanches will still be possible, some of which could be large.