Border Pennine Alps

Wind slabs and wet snow represent the main danger.

Wind slabs and wet snow represent the main danger.

Over a wide area the wind slabs will increase in size additionally as the day progresses. These can be released by a single winter sport participant and reach medium size. Additionally in some places avalanches can be triggered in the old snowpack and reach large size in isolated cases. In particular on steep sunny slopes and at the base of rock walls numerous medium-sized and, in isolated cases, large moist and wet avalanches are to be expected as a consequence of warming during the day and solar radiation, especially below steep, high-altitude, sunny starting zones that have retained the snow thus far. The current avalanche situation calls for careful route selection.

As a consequence of a strong northeasterly wind, sometimes deep wind slabs formed since Saturday adjacent to ridgelines and in gullies and bowls as well as in high Alpine regions. The spring-like weather conditions will give rise to increasing moistening of the snowpack in particular on sunny slopes below approximately 2700 m, also on shady slopes below approximately 2100 m.

The wind will be strong in the vicinity of peaks. The danger of dry slab avalanches will already exist in the early morning. Until Monday the weather will be very warm. Moist and wet avalanches are still likely to occur in particular during the day.