Avalanche forecast

südliches Urseren

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Avalanche danger

All elevations
2= · Moderate
Out of date — this forecast expired 2 years ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Avalanche problems

  • Persistent weak layers

    • Above 2,200 m
  • Gliding snow

    • All elevations

Snowpack Structure

In the north, the older wind slabs are often hard and lie on a rather unfavourable, faceted old snow surface, especially on shady slopes. Some of them are still prone to triggering.

South of a line from the Rhône to the Rhine, there are still weak layers in the lower part of the snowpack. These are most pronounced on shady slopes protected from the wind in Ticino, central Grisons, the Engadine and the southern valleys of Grisons. In the last few days, only a few avalanches have been triggered deep in the old snowpack, but these were dangerously large. In the south, where it snowed at the weekend, avalanche-prone locations are a little more common.

Only a few gliding avalanches have been reported recently – although some of them were large.

Weather Forecast

Weather forecast to Wednesday

During the night there will be widespread precipitation, which will fall as snow above approximately 1500 m.  During the day it will be mostly dry and partly sunny in the north, especially in the inneralpine regions. It will remain cloudy in the south.

Fresh snow

A few centimetres over a wide area, dry in inneralpine regions.

Temperature

At midday at 2000 m, between 0 °C in the north and -2 °C in the south

Wind

There will be mostly light southwesterly winds.

Weather Review

Weather review for Tuesday

It was very cloudy with brighter spells, especially in the Grisons. In the west, a little snow fell above approximately 1500 m.

Fresh snow

From Monday to Tuesday afternoon above 1800 m:

  • Western Lower Valais: 10 to 15 cm.
  • Elsewhere: a few centimetres, or dry.

Temperature

At midday at 2000 m, between 0 °C in the north and -2 °C in the south.

Wind

Often moderate from the southwest.

Tendency

OutlookThursday

There will be widespread precipitation from the north during the night into Thursday. In the west and on the northern flank of the Alps, 10 to 15 cm of snow is expected to fall by the evening. The snowfall level will drop from 1400 to 1100 m. In the south, it will be mostly dry and partly sunny as the day progresses. High altitudes will see a moderate to strong westerly wind at times.

The avalanche danger will increase slightly with the new snow and wind in the west and north.

Friday

Precipitation will fall in the north until Friday morning. Another 15 to 20 cm of snow will fall in the west and on the northern flank of the Alps, but the amounts are still uncertain. The snowfall level will drop to low altitudes. In the west it will be partly sunny as the day progresses, in the east it will remain cloudy. At higher altitudes, increasingly strong winds will blow from northerly directions. In the south, it will be mostly sunny with a foehn wind from the north.

The avalanche danger may continue to increase in the regions exposed to heavier precipitation, but it will not change significantly elsewhere.

Bulletin data: WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF (CC BY 4.0)

Regions covered