Zervreila

Snowpack

In the north, the foehn wind that has been persisting for days now has caused all the loose snow to drift. The wind slabs are medium to large and are still prone to triggering in places. Owing to mild temperatures and sunny weather, the near-surface layers of the snowpack have become moist up to around 3000 m, and there is Saharan dust on the surface.

A lot of snow has already fallen in the south over the last four days, and it will continue to snow heavily until Easter Monday. Deeper layers in the snowpack contain hardly any distinct weak layers. As such, most avalanches will be triggered in the new and drift snow and in some cases will carry along the snow that has fallen over the past few days. However, isolated fractures in deeper layers are still possible, and are likely to occur in the Visp valleys due to the poorer snowpack structure there. Below approximately 2000 m, the snowpack is wet due to the rain.

Gliding avalanches are still possible, primarily on east-, south- and west-facing slopes below approximately 2600 m and on north-facing slopes below approximately 2000 m. These may be large.

Weather forecast until Easter Sunday, 31.03.2024

Heavy precipitation will fall on and to the south of the Main Alpine Ridge. This precipitation will spread to the north via the Main Ridge, though it will not be as heavy. The snowfall level is expected to be between 1500 and 1800 m. In the far north, in central Valais and in northern Grisons, the day will be brighter with foehn winds.

New snow

From Saturday afternoon to Sunday afternoon, the following amounts of fresh snow are expected above approximately 2200 m:

• Main Alpine Ridge from the Matterhorn to the Bernina Pass and south of it: 50 to 80 cm;
• neighbouring regions to the north and the Lower Valais Main Alpine Ridge: 30 to 50 cm;
• Lower Engadine and Val Müstair: 15 to 30 cm;
• further north: less.

Temperature

At midday at 2000 m, between +3 °C in the north and 0 °C in the south.

Wind

There will be strong to storm-force southerly to southwesterly winds, with storm-force foehn winds in the valleys of the north.

Weather review for Saturday, 30.03.2024

There was an intrusion of Saharan dust. The south saw increasingly intense precipitation, which fell as snow above 1800 to 2000 m.

New snow

From Friday afternoon to Saturday afternoon, the following amounts of fresh snow were recorded above approximately 2500 m:

• Main Alpine Ridge from the Simplon region to the Nufenen Pass, Bedretto, Valle Maggia: 30 to 50 cm;
• the rest of Ticino, Urseren, Moesano: 10 to 20 cm;
• elsewhere: less, or it remained dry.

This means that since Wednesday, the following amounts of fresh snow have fallen in total:

• Main Alpine Ridge from the Simplon region to the San Bernardino Pass and south of it: 80 to 100 cm, up to 130 cm in the Valle Maggia and Bedretto;
• remaining part of the Main Alpine Ridge, western Lower Valais, Upper Engadine: mostly 30 to 60 cm;
• further north: less.

Temperature

At midday at 2000 m, between +6 °C in the north and -1 °C in the south.

Wind

There was a stormy southerly wind, with a foehn wind in the valleys of the north.

Trend until Tuesday, 02.04.2024Easter Monday

During the night, there will be widespread precipitation with stormy southerly winds and foehn winds, with heavy rainfall of 50 to 80 cm on the Main Alpine Ridge from the Matterhorn to the Bernina and south of it. The snowfall level will temporarily rise to around 2000 m. During the day, there will be a moderate westerly wind and there will only be some precipitation in the east. There will be bright spells in the west.

The avalanche activity is expected to peak during Sunday night into Monday. In the regions exposed to heavier precipitation, many large and sometimes very large avalanches are expected, making their way into the valleys along the usual avalanche paths. The danger will increase to the upper range of level 4 (high). An increase to level 5 (very high) with many very large and some extremely large avalanches cannot be ruled out on the Upper Valais Main Alpine Ridge, in Bedretto and in the northern Valle Maggia valleys.

The avalanche danger will also increase appreciably in the regions to the north of this area and along the rest of the Main Alpine Ridge. It will not change significantly further north.

Tuesday

In the north, some snow will fall above approximately 1200 m before it becomes increasingly sunny as the day progresses. It will be mostly sunny in the south.

Although the danger of dry avalanches will fall considerably in the south, the situation will remain critical for off-piste winter sports. In the north, the danger of dry avalanches will increase slightly with westerly winds and little new snow. Individual gliding avalanches are expected in the north, with more such avalanches anticipated in the south. These may be large.