Vysoké Tatry - západ

Watch out for wind-blown snow at the highest altitudes

Watch out for wind-blown snow at the highest altitudes

Following the passage of a cold front overnight, it will turn colder on Sunday, with up to 5cm of new dry snow expected to fall during the night and morning. Strong winds are expected throughout the day. The wet snow will freeze and stabilise overnight. There is a moderate avalanche danger in the highest altitudes of the High Tatras (level 2 on the 5-point international scale). Due to strong winds, the main avalanche problem will be wind-blown snow in the SE, SW and E orientations. Dangerous will be wind-rolled pillows and slabs on leeward sides of ridges, very steep couloirs with more new snow. In such places it will be possible to mechanically release an avalanche, especially with large additional loads.

The constantly changing temperatures caused a firn cover. The cooling during the night caused a thick layer of frozen snow on the snow surface. At the highest altitudes, the snow from the last snowfall period (Saturday and Sunday) is still dry and unbound with an underlying layer of hard firn. Most of the loose snow will be found in the S, SE and E exposures, where the wind will deposit it in slabs and pillows of varying hardness.

Generally persistent, rising slightly during the day due to wind.