Gruyère

Snowpack

At higher altitudes, the north to northeasterly wind was again strong and locally storm-force. Due to considerable snow transport in recent days with a similar wind direction, little transportable snow remains. Snowdrift accumulations from Wednesday are therefore relatively small. Thursday’s southeasterly wind will result in further, mostly small snowdrift accumulations at higher altitudes. Fresh and older snowdrift accumulations are lying on old snowpack, which varies in nature from region to region:

• south of a line from the Rhône to the Rhine, at higher altitudes there are distinct weak layers in the snowpack in which avalanches can still be triggered in places, sometimes reaching down to ground level. In central and southern Ticino, as well as in Val Bregaglia and Val Poschiavo, there is so little old snow that near-ground weak layers are mainly only thick enough to trigger an avalanche above approximately 2600 m.
• north of a line from the Rhône to the Rhine and in the extreme west of Lower Valais, the snowpack structure is more favourable. Hardly any avalanches starting in weak layers in near-ground old snowpack are to be expected.

Weather forecast to Thursday

Conditions will be sunny in the mountains.

Fresh snow

-

Temperature

At midday at 2000 m, between -1 °C in the north and -5 °C in the south.

Wind

• often moderate from the east
• briefly strong at times from the southeast to south in the morning on the Northern Alpine Ridge

Weather review for Wednesday

Conditions were very sunny in the west and south. Otherwise it was initially overcast, but largely dry. In the afternoon, conditions also became increasingly sunny in the Bernese Oberland and Grisons.

Fresh snow

-

Temperature

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

Wind

From north to northeast

• sometimes storm-force on the Northern Alpine Ridge and in the Jura
• moderate to strong elsewhere

Outlook

Conditions will be sunny in the mountains on Friday and Saturday. It will become milder, especially in the north. The wind will be mostly light from the east.

Avalanche danger will decrease, but only slowly in areas with persistent weak layers.