Gruyère

Snowpack

At higher altitudes, the northeasterly wind is again becoming strong to storm-force. There has already been considerable snow movement over the course of the past week due to winds from a similar direction. As a consequence little transportable snow remains, meaning that fresh snowdrift accumulations will tend to be small. Fresh and older snowdrift accumulations are lying on old snowpack, which varies in nature from region to region:

• south of a line from the Rhône to the Rhine, there are distinct weak layers in the snowpack at higher altitudes in which avalanches can be triggered in places, sometimes right down to ground level. In the snow-poor central and southern Ticino, as well as in Val Bregaglia and Val Poschiavo, the weak layers near ground level are usually only thick enough to trigger an avalanche above approximately 2600 m.
• north of a line from the Rhône to the Rhine and in the extreme west of Lower Valais, the snowpack structure is more favourable. Avalanches starting in weak layers in the near-ground old snowpack are only possible in isolated cases.

Weather forecast to Wednesday

The central and eastern parts of the northern flank of the Alps as well as northern and central Grisons will be very cloudy during the day. Locally, a few snowflakes may fall. Towards the west and south conditions will be mostly sunny.

Fresh snow

-

Temperature

At midday at 2000 m between 0 °C in the south, -2 °C in the west and -5 °C in the east

Wind

Overnight to Wednesday increasingly from the northeast; during the day

• strong to storm-force wind on the northern and main Alpine ridges
• otherwise mostly moderate
• strong Bise wind in the Jura in the afternoon

Weather review for Tuesday

Conditions were sunny in the mountains.

Fresh snow

-

Temperature

Rising, in the middle of the day at 2000 m between +3 °C in the west and 0 °C in the south and east

Wind

Northeasterly

• often moderate at higher altitudes,
• sometimes strong in the Jura and on the northern flank of the Alps

Outlook

Thursday and Friday will be sunny in the mountains and milder again, with a light to moderate easterly wind.

Avalanche danger will decrease, but only slowly in the areas with persistent weak layers.