Chiemgau Alps East

Spatially limited fresh snowdrifts above the timberline; notable stabilization of snowpack due to temperature drop at lower altitudes.

Spatially limited fresh snowdrifts above the timberline; notable stabilization of snowpack due to temperature drop at lower altitudes.

Avalanche danger above the treeline is moderate, below that altitude danger is low. Main problem: fresh snowdrift accumulations above the timberline. Avalanche prone locations are found in steep terrain adjacent to ridgelines but also distant from ridgelines behind protuberances as well as in gullies and bowls. In places, slab avalanches can be triggered even by a single person engaged in winter sports. At high altitude, avalanches can in isolated cases grow to larger size, where avalanches fracture down to weak layers that are more deeply embedded in the old snowpack. In addition, at intermediate altitudes isolated medium-sized glide snow avalanches can release on steep smooth grass-covered slopes.

The small quantities of new snow that will fall as the cold front passes will be transported by stormy westerly wind and deposited in wind-protected zones. At higher altitudes the snow is deposited atop an inconsistent, mostly encrusted surface with which it can only bond poorly. Locally, faceted crystals persist in the old snowpack underneath a more deeply embedded melt-freeze crust. At intermediate altitudes the snowpack stabilizes notably due to colder temperatures and is in fact in many places still wet but very compact.

Weather conditions will remain variable. No significant change is expected in avalanche danger levels.