Bregenzerwald Mountains

Swiftly rising daytime avalanche danger. Near-surface weak layers can often be triggered by winter sports enthusiasts.

Swiftly rising daytime avalanche danger. Near-surface weak layers can often be triggered by winter sports enthusiasts.

Following a night of clear skies, generally favorable backcountry touring conditions in early morning. However, avalanche danger increases rapidly due to solar radiation and daytime warming in all aspects below about 2400m, also above that altitude on very steep sun-exposed slopes. Naturally triggered avalanches can be expected; persons can trigger wet-snow slab avalanches. If near-surface avalanches fracture down to deeper layers of the snowpack they can, in isolated cases, grow to large size. In addition, winter sports enthusiasts can trigger near-surface weak layers on high-altitude shady slopes. Danger zone are impossible to recognize. Attention: danger of taking a fall on hardened snowpack surfaces on steep slopes.

Good nocturnal outgoing longwave radiation will generate a gradually thicker melt-freeze crust which, however, will swiftly soften up during the course of the day. At low and intermediate altitudes the snowpack, even on north-facing slopes, is thoroughly wet up to over 2000m. On high-altitude shady steep slopes there are unfavorable intermediate layers in the uppermost metre of the snowpack which in places can be triggered. A solid mid-section of compact layers inside the snowpack blankets a fundament of buried hoar and faceted crystals.

Wednesday will bring sunny weather amid harmless convective clouds in the afternoon. In exposed ridgeline and summit zones, northerly winds can be unpleasant. Temperature at 2000m: 8 degrees; at 3000m: +1 degree. Moderate to brisk northerly-to-northeasterly winds at high altitudes.

Over the next few days, a daytime rhythm of avalanche danger will set in.