Bex-Villars

Snowpack

North of a line from the Rhône to the Rhine and in the extreme west of Lower Valais, 2 to 3.5 m of snow have fallen over the last two weeks. As a result, weak layers in the old snowpack are thickly covered and can only rarely be triggered by human activity. However, avalanches may become very large.

South of the line from the Rhône to the Rhine, the persistent weak layers are still pronounced. Although there is not quite as much snow here, avalanches can still become large or even very large. In Grisons, avalanche-prone locations are still common. Whumpfing sounds and remote triggering are typical. In southern Valais, the significant weak layers in the lower part of the snowpack are mostly rather more thickly covered. Avalanche-prone locations where avalanches can be triggered in the weak old snowpack are therefore less frequent and mainly located in areas with little snow.

With the rise in temperature, the likelihood of dry avalanches being triggered increases slightly during the day. In addition, gliding avalanches are to be expected on steep grassy slopes and wet avalanches on sunny slopes.

Weather forecast to Wednesday

After a clear night, it will be sunny in the mountains and very mild with a zero-degree level at 3200 m.

Fresh snow

-

Temperature

At midday at 2000 m, between +7 °C in the north and +5 °C in the south

Wind

Light

Weather review for Tuesday

It was quite sunny in the far west, in Valais and in the south. In the other regions, it was very cloudy and there was some precipitation, mainly in the north-east. The snowfall level rose to around 2000 m.

Fresh snow

From Monday afternoon to Tuesday afternoon, the following amounts of fresh snow fell above approximately 2300 m:

• Eastern part of the northern flank of the Alps, northern Grisons, Lower Engadine: 10 to 15 cm
• Less elsewhere, dry in the south

Temperature

At midday at 2000 m, between a mild +6 °C in the southwest and +2 °C in the northeast

Wind

There was a northwesterly wind:

• Light to moderate in the west and south
• Strong and locally stormy at high altitudes in the east and in Grisons

Outlook to Friday

Clear nights will be followed by sunny days. With a zero-degree level at almost 3000 m, it continues to be mild. The westerly wind will be light, becoming moderate at times on Friday.

The danger of dry avalanches will decrease, but only very slowly in southern Valais, Ticino and Grisons due to the pronounced weak layers. Gliding avalanches are still to be expected, as well as wet avalanches on sunny slopes. These may become large in the west and north.