Border Graie Alps

Moist and wet avalanches as the day progresses.

Moist and wet avalanches as the day progresses.

A clear night will be followed in the early morning by quite favourable conditions, but the danger of wet avalanches will increase later. As a consequence of warming during the day and solar radiation the avalanche prone locations will become more prevalent from midday. The more recent wind slabs can be released in isolated cases, but mostly only by large additional loads, especially on extremely steep shady slopes at elevated altitudes. Places where persistent weak layers exist in the old snowpack, sometimes consisting of buried surface hoar, are unfavourable. On steep northwest, north and east facing slopes the dry avalanches can be triggered in the weakly bonded old snow and reach medium size in isolated cases. The weather will be warm. Backcountry tours and ascents to alpine cabins should be started very early and concluded timely.

The snowpack is largely stable and its surface has a strong melt-freeze crust. The surface of the snowpack has frozen to form a strong crust and will soften earlier than the day before. As a consequence of a strong wind from northerly directions, hard wind slabs formed since Monday in particular in areas not adjacent to ridgelines. These places are rather rare and are easy to recognise. In particular very steep shady slopes high altitudes: Individual weak layers exist in the centre of the snowpack. As a consequence of highly fluctuating temperatures and solar radiation the snowpack will consolidate at the weekend.

As a consequence of warming during the day and the solar radiation, the likelihood of dry and wet avalanches being released will increase gradually.