Západné Tatry

Watch out for wind-blown pillows of new snow and wet avalanches on sunlit slopes.

Watch out for wind-blown pillows of new snow and wet avalanches on sunlit slopes.

In the High, Western and Low Tatras above 1800 m above sea level there is a moderate avalanche danger. The main avalanche problem is wet snow. All orientations will be unsafe due to the slight warming brought by rain. Avalanches are possible on steep slopes with little additional load. Small and medium avalanches are a threat, especially in conjunction with terrain traps. The second avalanche problem is wind-blown snow. At altitudes above 1800 m above sea level, there is very locally a large amount of new snow that is deposited on hard pack. Especially dangerous are narrow couloirs and places under rock walls, especially of northern and western orientations.

The snow cover is very varied. At the highest altitudes, a very hard to icy layer alternates with wind-blown snow. On average, up to 20 cm of new snow has fallen in the last snowfall period, but locally there may be much more. There is also a critical layer of crusts in the snow profile. Rain is expected in the mid-altitudes, which will cause the snow cover to lose its strength quickly and pose an avalanche risk. In particular, there is a risk of spontaneous avalanches from wet snow.

With warming rising.