Nock Mountains

Few danger zones but very poor snow quality

Few danger zones but very poor snow quality

Avalanche danger continues to be low. There are very few potential avalanche prone locations where large additional loading can invariably trigger a slab from the persistent weak layer, most likely on extremely steep slopes with relatively shallow-snow above about 2200 m in E/N aspects. Shallow-snow and extremely steep slopes near ridgelines should be circumvented. The danger of taking a fall on steel-hard surface outweighs the danger of triggering an avalanche.

Melt-freeze encrusted surface (hard as steel, icy, breakable, snowdrift patches) dominate. Beneath this is a soft layer. A potential trigger-sensitive layer of faceted and soft snow is evident starting at 2000/2200m in E/N aspects. This weak layer is currently not easily triggered or, if so, only over small spaces and is not area-wide.

On Thursday clouds will pass through, the summit will remain free but light conditions will become diffuse. Milder: at 2000 m, 0 degrees. Westerly winds will reach 30-40 km/hr in exposed terrain, up to 60 km/hr on the Alpine rim in the afternoon On Friday in the furthermost north, a small amount of snowfall (rain below 1600 m) is possible, but soon thereafter dry weather will set in. Particularly in inneralpine regions the sun will come through. Strong W/NW winds in exposed terrain above the treeline. At 2000 m: 0 degrees, at 3000 m: -5 degrees.

Still no significant change