Waadtländer Voralpen

Snowpack

The last fortnight’s rather low temperatures have meant that conditions have remained wintry in the high Alpine regions. Particularly on steep north-facing slopes above around 3000 m and on all aspects above around 3500 m, the snowpack was still mostly dry before the current snowfall and in some cases also contained weak layers. There have been a number of avalanches triggered by human activity in the high Alpine regions, for instance on last Saturday, 17 May. Below around 3000 m, however, the old snowpack was water-saturated and contained hardly any weak layers.

Fresh snow and wind resulted in wind slabs forming on Thursday, especially in the high Alpine regions. On Friday, further wind slabs will form in the areas with fresh snow on the Northern Alpine Ridge and in Grisons, as well as in the regions with strong northerly winds along the Main Alpine Ridge. This fresh and drifted snow will be prone to triggering. In some places, avalanches may also start in deep layers of the snowpack.

OutlookSaturday and Sunday

Overnight to Saturday and on Sunday, it will be mostly clear in the west and south, but only partly clear in the north. On Saturday it will be sunny with cumulus clouds as the day progresses. It will remain cool with the zero-degree level at around 2000 m in the north and 2400 m in the south. On Sunday it will be cloudy in the north and a little precipitation may fall in the afternoon. In the west and south it will be sunny at first, becoming increasingly cloudy in the afternoon. The zero-degree level will rise appreciably to around 2800 m. On both days, the wind will be mostly light. At high altitudes, the wind will be moderate at times from northerly directions.

The risk of dry avalanches in the high Alpine regions will decrease. As a consequence of the solar radiation, moist loose snow avalanches from the fresh snow are possible.