Allgäu Alps West

Fresh snow and drifts are highly prone to triggering

Fresh snow and drifts are highly prone to triggering

Fresh fallen and frequently covered older snowdrift accumulations are easily triggered. Small to medium-sized slab avalanchess can be triggered by minimum additional loading. Also naturally triggered avalanches can be expected. Settling noises when treading the snowpack and fractures on the surface can indicate imminent danger. Danger zones occur in wind-loaded steep terrain, behind sharp drops in the landscape, in gullies and bowls. Particularly in high-altitude west, north and east-facing slopes, avalanches can fracture down to ground-level layers of the snowpack and grow to large size. I

By Tuesday morning there was up to 40cm of fresh snow registered widespread, locally as much as 50cm. Amid intermittently strong winds it was transported and has generated new snowdrift masses. They are prone to triggering. Fresh snow and drifts often lie deposited atop soft layers of fresh fallen snow from precious days and blanket older drifts. The mid-part of the snowpack consists of well-consolidated, compact layers which in shady slopes blanket a poorly-structured snowpack fundament.

Wintery conditions with snowfall and wind. During daytime hours, some interims without snowfall in sunny windows. The northerly winds will intensify the cold. Temperature at 2000m: from -8 degrees; at 3000m: -16 degrees. Moderately strong northerly winds at high altitude, very gusty.

Avalanche danger will gradually recede