Allgäu Alps Central

Possibility of slab avalanches in wind-exposed locations.

Possibility of slab avalanches in wind-exposed locations.

Moderate avalanche danger prevails in the Bavarian Alps. Main problem at higher altitudes: new snow. In steep ridgeline terrain and wind-exposed places where the snow has bonded, medium-sized slab avalanches can in some places be triggered by low additional loading. Especially in steep rocky terrain naturally releasing loose snow avalanches can be expected. Frequency and size of danger zones increase with ascending altitude; they are found in all aspects. In addition, glide snow avalanches can release on steep grass-covered intermediate altitude slopes in all aspects. This also applies to slopes which were already bare of snow before the current new snowfall.

Locally, up to 50cm of new snow have fallen since Thursday. On shady slopes the new snow was deposited atop a moist old snowpack covered with Saharan dust. At higher altitudes, there are some places where weak intermediate layers at transitions to the old snowpack or embedded in the new snowpack are prone to triggering. In ridgeline terrain and exposed terrain moderate wind made the snow bond slab-like. At low altitudes and on sunny slopes the new snow was deposited atop a previously bare ground and becomes rapidly wet from below. The consequence are gliding movements.

Sun and increasing temperatures turn the new snow problem into a wet snow problem.