Zermatt

Snowpack

The snowpack at altitude is characterised by the strong southerly and westerly winds of the past two days. Some of the wind slabs from Monday are still prone to triggering.

The structure of the snowpack varies greatly from region to region:

• Along the Main Alpine Ridge in the Grisons, in the Upper Engadine and in large parts of Ticino, the snowpack is still thin but often completely faceted. In these regions, avalanches can be triggered very easily wherever new and drift snow is deposited on a continuous old snowpack and entrain the entire snowpack.
• In the inneralpine regions of Valais and Grisons, there are distinct weak layers in the snowpack at high altitude. In these, avalanches can be triggered in places and sometimes tear through to the ground.
• North of a line from the Rhône to the Rhine and in the extreme west of Lower Valais, the snowpack structure is more favourable. Avalanches in weak layers in the old snowpack are only possible in isolated cases.

Below 2400 metres, the snowpack is moistened by rain and warmth in many places.

Weather forecast to Tuesday, 07.01.2025

There will be widespread precipitation during the night, with most of the snow falling in the south and west. The snowfall level will drop rapidly from 1600 m to 800 m in the west and it will be around 800 m in the south. During the day it will be mostly sunny in the south, otherwise partly sunny elsewhere.

Fresh snow

From Monday afternoon to Tuesday afternoon above 1600 m:

• Main Alpine Ridge from the Lukmanier Pass to the Bernina Pass and south of it: 20 to 40 cm
• Extreme west of Lower Valais, Vaud and Fribourg Alps, rest of Ticino: 15 to 30 cm
• The rest of Lower Valais, the rest of the northern flank of the Alps, the rest of Grisons: 5 to 15 cm
• Less elsewhere

Temperature

At midday at 2000 m, between -6 °C in the north and -2 °C in the south

Wind

• Initially continued strong southerly winds
• During the night, the wind will turn to southwest and will be strong, especially in the north and generally at high altitudes. Otherwise, it will be mostly moderate

Weather review for Monday, 06.01.2025

During the night, light precipitation set in in the south, which intensified as the day progressed. The snowfall level was around 1300 m. In the north, it was often cloudy with foehn-like bright spells.

Fresh snow

From Sunday evening to Monday afternoon above 1800 m:

• Central part of the southern flank of the Alps: 10 to 20 cm
• Main Alpine Ridge from the Lukmanier Pass to the Bernina Pass: 5 to 10 cm

Temperature

At midday at 2000 m, around 0 °C in the north, +2 °C in the east and -2 °C in the south

Wind

• Strong to stormy southerly wind
• A strong foehn wind will blow in the alpine valleys of the north

Outlook

Precipitation will fall during the night into Wednesday and from Wednesday evening. On Wednesday, the main focal point will be in the north. On Thursday, it will be in the west and on the Main Alpine Ridge in Grisons. A total of 15 to 30 cm of new fallen snow is possible on the Northern Alpine Ridge from Les Diablerets to Titlis and on the Main Alpine Ridge from the Lukmanier Pass to the Bernina region, and up to 60 cm in the extreme west of Lower Valais. The snowfall level will increase to around 2000 metres on Wednesday and slowly fall back to around 1600 metres on Thursday. The precipitation will be accompanied by strong westerly winds.

In the regions exposed to heavier precipitation, the avalanche danger will increase, significantly so in the extreme west of Lower Valais. With the rain, gliding avalanches are to be expected, especially in the north and west below 2000 metres.