Bex-Villars

Snowpack

The compact wind slab layers from Friday partly overlay angular old snow surfaces and are prone to triggering at altitude. With new snow and strong westerly winds, further wind slabs will develop in the afternoon, especially in the north and west.

The thin old snowpack is mostly favourable in structure with only isolated weak layers, mostly in the area of melt-freeze crusts. Above 2800 m, where there was already a cohesive old snowpack before the snowfall in the second half of November, there are some weak layers of faceted crystals on northern slopes. In these, isolated avalanches may be triggered in near-ground layers.

Weather forecast until Saturday, 07.12.2024

On Saturday morning there will still be isolated brighter spells from southern Valais via Ticino and Grisons. From midday, snow will begin to fall from the west, intensifying towards the evening. In Ticino and Grisons it will remain mostly dry until the afternoon. The snowfall level in the north will drop from 1600 metres to low altitudes by the evening. In the south it will be at 1000 metres.

Fresh snow

From Saturday lunchtime to Saturday afternoon:

• Vaud and Fribourg Alps, northern and extreme west of Lower Valais: 15 to 30 cm
• Other western and central parts of the northern flank of the Alps, rest of Lower Valais: 5 to 15 cm
• Otherwise a few centimetres, mostly dry in Ticino and Grisons

Temperature

At midday at 2000 m, 0 °C, falling rapidly in the afternoon

Wind

Strong from westerly directions, mostly moderate in Ticino and Grisons

Weather review for Friday, 06.12.2024

Snow began to fall during the night on Thursday and subsided on Friday. In the afternoon there were brighter skies, especially in the west and south. The snowfall level rose to around 2200 m on the northern flank of the Alps and in Lower Valais and fell below 1500 m when the precipitation ended. In the other regions, it was mostly between 1000 and 1500 m.

Fresh snow

From Thursday evening to Friday afternoon:

• Northern Alpine Ridge, extreme west of Lower Valais: 10 to 20 cm
• Other parts of Lower Valais, Goms and northern Grisons as well as Lower Engadine: 5 to 10 cm
• Otherwise less or no snow

Temperature

At midday at 2000 m, 0 °C in Valais and Ticino and -2 °C in the other regions

Wind

Often strong, at times stormy from westerly directions

Outlook until Monday, 09.12.2024

There will be widespread snowfall during Saturday night, mainly in the north and west. There will be intermittent snow showers during the day. Monday will be changeable in the north with isolated snow showers, sunny at times in Valais and the south. The snowfall level will be at low altitude on both days. The wind will still be blowing moderately to strongly from a westerly to northerly direction during Saturday night. On Sunday it will gradually turn to the northeast and the wind will still be weak to moderate.

The avalanche danger will increase with the snowfall during Saturday night, especially in the west and north, and will decrease slowly on Monday.