Waadtländer Voralpen

Snowpack

In the north and west, the rain during the night into Sunday moistened the snowpack up to around 2400 metres.

On the northern flank of the Alps and in Lower Valais in particular, the loose snow above 2000 metres was transported significantly by the strong westerly wind. Some of these snowdrift accumulations are still prone to triggering.

At high altitudes in particular, the snowpack contains various weak layers in which avalanches can still be triggered in some places. Avalanches may also be triggered in weak layers near the ground, especially in inneralpine regions.

Along the Main Alpine Ridge in Grisons, in the Upper Engadine and in large parts of Ticino, the snowpack is still thin but often completely metamorphosed. This very weak snowpack will be covered by fresh snow on Monday. New snow and snow drift accumulations are very prone to triggering in these regions wherever they are deposited on a contiguous old snowpack.

Weather forecast to Monday, 6 January 2025

It will often be cloudy in the north; in the regions that are exposed to the foehn wind, there will be longer bright spells. In the afternoon, it will rain in the Jura. In the south, precipitation will set in during the night into Monday, intensifying in the afternoon. The snowfall level will be between 1000 and 1400 m.

Fresh snow

Above 1600 m until Monday afternoon:

• Main Alpine Ridge from the Gotthard Pass to the Bernina region and south of it: 10 to 20 cm
• Regions neighbouring it to the north and Val Poschiavo: 5 to 10 cm;
• Elsewhere: less, or it will remain dry.

Temperature

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

Wind

• Increasingly strong to stormy wind from southwest to south
• Stormy foehn wind in the alpine valleys of the north

Weather review for Sunday, 5 January 2025

There was widespread precipitation in the north during the night into Sunday. The precipitation ended in the morning, most recently in the east. The snowfall level rose during the night to around 2200 metres. It was mostly cloudy during the day.

Fresh snow

From Saturday afternoon to Sunday noon above 2500 m:

• Extreme west of Lower Valais, Northern Alpine Ridge: 10 to 20 cm, and locally up to 30 cm;
• The rest of the northern flank of the Alps, the rest of Valais, the rest of Gotthard region: 5 to 10 cm, with less snow elsewhere.

Temperature

At midday at 2000 m, between +4 °C in the north and -4 °C in the south.

Wind

There will be a southwesterly wind:

• Often strong in the north, sometimes stormy at high altitudes
• Weak to moderate in the south.

OutlookTuesday

There will be widespread precipitation during the night, most of it on the western part of the northern flank of the Alps, in the extreme west of Lower Valais and on the Main Alpine Ridge from the Lukmanier Pass to the Bernina Pass and south of it. There, 20 to 40 cm of snow is possible. The snowfall level will drop to 800 metres. The strong southerly foehn wind will die down during the night. As a result, there will be increasingly strong, sometimes stormy, westerly winds at high altitudes. During the day, it will be partly sunny in the north, mostly sunny in the south.

The danger of dry avalanches is increasing across the board, significantly so in the south. The danger of wet avalanches will decrease owing to the significant drop in temperatures.

Wednesday

Precipitation will fall again in the west and north, accompanied by strong to stormy westerly winds. In the extreme west of Lower Valais and on the northern Alpine ridge, 15 to 30 cm of new fallen snow is possible. The snowfall level will increase to around 2000 metres.

The avalanche danger may still increase somewhat in some regions in the north. With the rain, wet and gliding avalanches are to be expected below 2000 metres.