Saint-Cergue

A mostly favourable avalanche situation will persist

A mostly favourable avalanche situation will persist

Below approximately 1400 m only a little snow is now lying. Very isolated avalanche prone locations are to be found in particular in extreme terrain. Restraint should be exercised because avalanches can sweep people along and give rise to falls. As a consequence of warming during the day and solar radiation individual small and, in isolated cases, medium-sized gliding avalanches and moist snow slides are possible, especially on very steep sunny slopes.

In the southern Valais as well as in the inneralpine and southern regions of Grisons, there are weak layers deeply embedded inside the snowpack. Even though these weak layers are often quite pronounced from place to place, there have been no further releases reported having triggered in them since the end of February. In the remaining regions, the snowpack structuring is more favourable. In the clear nights, a crust which is capable of bearing loads tends to form on steep south-facing slopes up to high altitudes. As a consequence of the solar radiation and daytime warming, wet slides and gliding avalanches are possible, particularly on the northern flank of the Alps and on very steep, sunny slopes. In the southern regions there is unusually little snow on the ground, at numerous measurement stations less than has ever before been recorded at this juncture of the season. As a result of the thin, often expansively metamorphosed (faceted) snowpack, there is currently heightened danger of falling into crevices on the glaciers, most particularly in the southern parts of Valais and Grisons.

Following a night of clear skies it was sunny during the daytime hours. Fresh snow: - Temperature: At midday at 2000 m, +2 °C in the Valais and the southern regions, in the other regions of Switzerland -1 °C. Wind: Winds were blowing predominantly at light strength. Following a night of clear skies, it is expected to be sunny during the daytime. Fresh snow: - Temperature: At midday at 2000 m, +2 °C. Wind: Winds will be blowing generally at light strength.

On Thursday night, high-altitude clouds will move in from the southwest. In the northern regions, foehn wind is expected to arise on Thursday night; in the southern regions a small amount of precipitation cannot be ruled out. On Saturday in the southern regions, skies will be predominantly overcast. A small amount of snowfall extending down to low lying areas is possible from region to region. In the northern regions it will remain dry as a result of foehn influence. The avalanche situation is expected to remain predominantly favourable. Isolated avalanche prone locations for dry-snow avalanches occur particularly on very steep, shady slopes in the inneralpine regions, as well as wherever the moderate-to-strong velocity southwesterly winds generate small-sized snowdrift accumulations. Gliding avalanches are possible, particularly north of an imaginary Rhine-Rhone line.