Allgäu Alps Central

Caution on hiking trails: beware of wet snow avalanches triggering above you!

Caution on hiking trails: beware of wet snow avalanches triggering above you!

Avalanche danger above 1500 m is moderate, below that altitude danger is low. Main problem: wet snow. Mostly small loose snow avalanches can release spontaneously in steep rocky terrain. Wherever there is still enough snow, in addition possibility of medium-sized glide snow avalanches triggering naturally in steep terrain with smooth ground. At high altitude small-scale snowdrifts can partly even be triggered by one sole person as small to medium-sized slabs. Avalanche prone locations are found mostly in steep terrain in N/E aspects and in wind-loaded gullies and bowls.

In the last few days small-scale snowdrift accumulations were generated at high altitude which can still be prone to triggering. However, due to diffuse incoming radiation these are increasingly bonding with the thoroughly moist old snowpack. At intermediate altitudes the new snow that fell during Tuesday night was frequently deposited on the warm ground or has bonded well with the old snowpack and has already become moist. The snowpack is wet down to the ground at intermediate altitude which promotes gliding of the snow masses over smooth ground. In many places the ground is becoming rapidly bare of snow.

Friday will see the onset of abundant rainfall and simultaneously mild temperatures. The wet snow problem will aggravate.