Génépi

A favourable avalanche situation will prevail

A favourable avalanche situation will prevail

Faceted weak layers exist deep in the snowpack. In very isolated cases avalanches can be released in the old snowpack and reach medium size. This applies especially on very steep north and east facing slopes above approximately 2200 m in little used terrain. The avalanche prone locations are very rare but are barely recognisable, even to the trained eye. Very steep shady slopes are to be traversed by snow sport participants one at a time.

In the southern Valais as well as in the inneralpine and southern regions of Grisons, there are weak layers evident deeply embedded inside the snowpack. Although these layers are quite pronounced from place to place, there have been no further avalanches triggered from them during the last week. In the remaining regions of Switzerland, the snowpack layering is more favorably structured. Nevertheless, stability tests have demonstrated that even here in some places, there are fractures in the surface-near layers. On the northern flank of the Alps more than anywhere else, isolated gliding avalanches continue to be possible in isolated cases. In the southern regions there is an unusually small amount of snow on the ground, at numerous measurement stations less than has ever before been measured at this juncture of the season. As a consequence of the thin, often expansively metamorphosed (faceted) layers inside the snowpack there is currently a heightened danger of falling into crevices on the glaciers, most particularly in the regions of Zermatt and Saas Fee.

Following a night of predominantly clear skies it was sunny during the daytime hours. In the furthermost southern regions skies were overcast during the nocturnal hours and also during the morning. Fresh snow: - Temperature: At midday at 2000 m, -6 °C. Wind: Winds were blowing predominantly at light strength, at moderate strength in high alpine regions, from northeasterly directions. Following a night of clear skies it will be sunny during the daytime hours. In the furthermost southern regions there will be some cloudbanks during the nighttime and early morning hours. Fresh snow: - Temperature: At midday at 2000 m, -7 °C. Wind: Winds will be predominantly light, moderate in the high alpine regions, from northeasterly directions.

Following nights of clear skies it will be sunny on each successive day. As a consequence of light-strength northeasterly winds, temperatures will be relatively cool. The zero-degree level will lie below 1500 m. The avalanche situation is expected to remain favourable. Isolated avalanche prone locations occur on very steep, shady slopes in the inneralpine regions in particular. Gliding avalanches are possible.