Pays d'Enhaut

A generally favourable avalanche situation will prevail. Slight increase in danger of wet avalanches in the course of the day

A generally favourable avalanche situation will prevail. Slight increase in danger of wet avalanches in the course of the day

Avalanches can be released in near-surface layers by people. They can reach medium size. Careful route selection is recommended. As a consequence of westerly wind, small wind slabs formed on Tuesday in particular in high Alpine regions. These are to be evaluated with care and prudence in steep terrain. As a consequence of warming during the day and solar radiation wet avalanches are possible as the day progresses. Backcountry tours and off-piste skiing should be concluded timely. Gliding avalanches can also occur. Areas with glide cracks are to be avoided as far as possible.

In most places the fresh snow of recent days has bonded quite well with the now frozen old snowpack on which it was deposited. The westerly wind has given rise to fresh snow drift accumulations in the eastern part of the northern flank of the Alps and in Engadine. In the inneralpine regions of Grisons and to some extent of Valais as well, the bonding of the snowpack on north facing slopes remains weak, but hardly any avalanches have been released in deep layers for some time. Before last week’s snowfalls, unbroken snow cover existed on north facing slopes above approximately 1000 to 1400 m in the northern regions, and above approximately 1800 to 2200 m in the southern regions. The snow line on south facing slopes was mostly 300 to 500 m higher. In the south, exceptionally little snow is lying in the mountains for this time of year.

The north was very cloudy, and in the east a few snowflakes fell during the day. Valais was partly sunny, and the south mostly sunny. Fresh snow: Central and eastern parts of the northern flank of the Alps, also Prättigau: a few centimetres locally above approximately 1500 m Temperature: At midday at 2000 m: between 0 °C in the north and +3 °C in the south Wind: From westerly directions - In the east during the night, sometimes strong, otherwise mostly moderate. - In the west and south, mostly light. After a mostly clear night, the morning will be partly sunny. From the middle of the day, the cloud cover will increase from the west. The south will be fairly sunny with high-altitude cloudbanks. Fresh snow: - Temperature: At midday at 2000 m: about +1 °C Wind: Light, occasionally moderate at elevated altitudes, from the southwest

Thursday: With a strong and sometimes storm force westerly wind, it will be very cloudy. Precipitation will fall over a wide area, most heavily in the west. In the extreme west of Lower Valais, around 50 cm of fresh snow is expected. In the afternoon the snowfall level will rise to almost 2000 m. In Grisons only a little precipitation will fall; the far south will remain dry. The danger of dry avalanches will increase in the north and west, and significantly in the far west. Below approximately 2000 m, wet snow avalanches are to be expected in particular on north facing slopes as a consequence of rain. In Grisons and Ticino, the danger will be posed by fresh snow drift accumulations in particular. Friday: On Friday the storm force southwesterly wind will persist and there will be precipitation over a wide area; in the west and on the northern flank of the Alps the precipitation will be heavy. In the south and in Engadine there will be variable cloud, and light precipitation will fall in the afternoon. The snowfall level will be approximately 2000 m. In the areas exposed to heavier precipitation, large and in some instances very large dry avalanches are to be expected, and wet snow avalanches are to be expected below 2000 m. In the extreme west of Lower Valais and probably on the northern Alpine ridge west of Wildstrubel as well, danger level 4 (high) will be reached.