Waadtländer Voralpen

A favourable avalanche situation will prevail

A favourable avalanche situation will prevail

Individual avalanche prone locations are to be found in extremely steep terrain. Restraint should be exercised because avalanches can sweep people along and give rise to falls.

Fresh snow drift accumulations have formed in particular at elevated altitudes, but also generally in gullies and bowls. They are prone to triggering, in particular on west, north and east facing slopes, but as a rule are mostly small. Underneath the wind slabs, the bonding of the snowpack is favourable over a wide area on the northern flank of the Alps and in western Lower Valais. Stability tests (rutschblock and ECT) have triggered fractures in a weak layer lying either on top of or underneath the rain crust that formed at the end of December, in particular upon application of a medium to large additional load. From central Valais through northern Ticino to Grisons, weak layers exist deeper in the snowpack. Individual stability tests have continued to trigger fractures in these layers. For some time now, however, hardly any avalanche releases have been reported in this deep old snow.

During Monday night the cloud in the northeast dispersed and the skies became clear, as they were already in the other regions. During the day the weather was sunny. Fresh snow: - Temperature: At midday at 2000 m: between +5 °C in the west and +1 °C in the east Wind: - During Monday night on the northern Alpine ridge and in Upper Valais, Ticino and Grisons, strong, but storm force in isolated cases, veering from northerly to northeasterly - During the day, light to moderate from the east, and in the Jura a moderate to strong bise wind After a clear night, Wednesday will be sunny. In the evening, cloud will build up from the west. Fresh snow: - Temperature: At midday at 2000 m: about 0 °C in the north and -2 °C in the south Wind: Predominantly light, in the north as the day progresses, moderate southwesterly

It will be cold and the wind will be strong to storm force from the north. A little snow will fall in the north, even at low altitudes. The wind will transport fresh snow and loosely bonded old snow. The avalanche danger will increase rapidly on Thursday and is not expected to change significantly on Friday. The main danger is posed by fresh snow drift accumulations, so that no overly large avalanches are to be expected.