Saas Fee

Considerable avalanche danger will be encountered in some regions

Considerable avalanche danger will be encountered in some regions

The fresh and older wind slabs are 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. Avalanches can in some cases reach medium size. The wind slabs are to be evaluated with care and prudence in very steep terrain.

The deep snowdrift accumulations from the beginning of the week have increasingly stabilised as a result of the higher temperatures and solar radiation, with the exception of shady slopes where they remain prone to triggering in some places. On steep sunny slopes the snowpack surface is moist up to high altitudes, and during the nocturnal hours a breakable crust forms. Deeper down inside the snowpack, particularly on west-facing, north-facing and east-facing slopes, deeply embedded and pronounced weak layers are evident. These weak layers are generally blanketed over by thick layers of snow on the northern flank of the Alps and for that reason are no longer very prone to triggering. From the southern Valais over the northern Ticino as far as Grisons, the blanketing is less thick. In those regions avalanches can be triggered in the weakened old snow by persons, particularly in spots where the snow is shallow.

Following a night of clear skies it was sunny and very mild during the daytime. The zero-degree level ascended to 3500 m. Fresh snow: - Temperature: At midday at 2000 m, +7 °C. Wind: Winds were blowing at light to moderate strength from westerly directions. Following a night of predominantly clear skies it is expected to be quite sunny to start with. During the course of the afternoon, isolated cloudbanks will move in, then increase as evening draws near, from the northwest. Fresh snow: - Temperature: Temperatures are expected to drop. At midday at 2000 m, +1 °C. Wind: Winds will be blowing at moderate strength, in some places at high altitudes at strong velocity, from westerly directions.

Friday: On Thursday night in the northern regions, precipitation is expected to set in. During the daytime on Friday, skies will be variably cloudy to heavily overcast and above approximately 1000 m snowfall is anticipated until midday. All in all, 5 to 15 cm of fresh fallen snow is expected over widespread areas. In the southern regions and in the Engadine it will presumably remain dry and be partly sunny. The winds will be blowing at light to moderate strength, intermittently at strong velocity in the southern regions, from northern directions. In the northern regions avalanche danger is expected to increase somewhat. In the southern regions, avalanche danger is not expected to change significantly. Saturday: On Saturday it will be rather sunny, accompanied by light winds. The zero-degree level will lie at approximately 1500 m. Avalanche danger levels are expected to incrementally recede.