Rätikon West

Still unfavourable conditions at high altitudes

Nocturnal hours: light snowfall down to low lying areas from heavy cloud cover, in the latter part of the night the snowfall will taper off, clouds will disperse. In the Rhine Valley and on Lake Constance the fog will recede. Monday: sunny and adequate visibility. In the afternoon, clouds will move in from the northeast, a few snow showers will result. Temperatures will drop. At 2000 m: -10 degrees. Moderate N/NE winds.

Tuesday will be very sunny. At 2000 m: -7 degrees. Moderate E/NE winds. Avalanche danger will diminish.

Still unfavourable conditions at high altitudes

At high altitudes, considerable avalanche danger still prevails. Avalanche prone locations occur in wind-loaded steep terrain, also distant from ridgelines and particularly behind abrupt discontinuities in the terrain, in gullies and bowls. Size and spread of the danger zones increase with ascending altitude. Whumpf noises and glide cracks in the snowpack surface are signals of danger. Also remote triggerings and naturally triggered avalanches are possible. If avalanches fracture down to these layers they can grow to large size.

The latest batch of fresh snow was able to settle and consolidate at low altitudes. It often blankets trigger-sensitive snowdrift accumulations. Bonding of fresh snow and drifts to the old snowpack and with itself is often poor. At high altitudes especially on steep shady slopes there are still older unfavourable layers in the snowpack. These places are not visible to the naked eye.