Hohgant

Snowpack

New snow and northerly winds are leading to the formation of fresh wind slabs. In the south, there may be drifts of not only the new snow but also the old snow that is still loose and close to the surface.

The thick layers of new snow in the south have settled and largely stabilised. Deeper layers of the snowpack are compact in many places. However, the old snowpack also contains various crusts and, between them, layers with a faceted crystal structure, in which human-triggered avalanches have been released, especially in the inneralpine regions of Grisons.

Gliding avalanches are still possible, primarily on east-, south- and west-facing slopes below approximately 2400 m and more rarely on north-facing slopes. These may be large.

Weather forecast until Wednesday, 06.03.2024

Snow will fall widely during Tuesday night into Wednesday. The snowfall level will drop to around 700 m in the north and to around 1000 m in the south. During the day, it will be very cloudy in the north, and the snowfall will ease somewhat from midday. In the south, cloud will alternate with sunny spells.

New snow

From Tuesday evening to Wednesday afternoon, the following amounts of fresh snow are expected above approximately 1400 m:

• northern flank of the Alps from the eastern part of the Bernese Alps to Liechtenstein, Grisons: 20 to 40 cm;
• elsewhere: 10 to 20 cm, with only a few centimetres in Ticino.

Temperature

Temperatures will continue to fall, reaching between -6 °C in the north and -2 °C in the south at midday at 2000 m.

Wind

• At 2000 m: there will be weak to moderate westerly to northwesterly winds in the north, and occasionally moderate to strong northeasterly winds in the south.
• At 3000 m: in the west, there will be weak to moderate and in the south and east, moderate to strong northerly to easterly winds.

Weather review for Tuesday, 05.03.2024

It was mostly very cloudy, but it was still sunny at times in the late morning in Engadine. The north saw light precipitation set in during the late morning, with this becoming widespread as the day progressed. The snowfall level was between 1200 m and 1400 m.

New snow

From Tuesday early morning to Tuesday afternoon, the following amounts of fresh snow were recorded above approximately 1600 m:

• northern flank of the Alps, Surselva: 5 to 10 cm;
• elsewhere: less, or it remained dry.

Temperature

The temperature dropped, reaching -4 °C in the north and 0 °C in the south at midday at 2000 m.

Wind

There were weak to moderate southwesterly to northwesterly winds.

Trend until Friday, 08.03.2024Thursday

The precipitation will come to an end during Wednesday night into Thursday. During the day, it will be mostly sunny and slightly milder in the mountains. There will be a light to moderate easterly wind at high altitudes.

The danger of dry avalanches will decrease slightly, but the situation will remain critical for off-piste snow sports. Gliding avalanches will still be possible. In addition, moist snow slides from the new snow are to be expected as the day progresses.

Friday

In the south, it will be mostly cloudy and a little snow may fall above approximately 1200 m. It will be quite sunny in the north, with clouds gathering from the southwest as the day progresses. In the northern regions that are exposed to the foehn wind, there will be moderate and, as the day progresses, strong foehn winds from the south. The wind will also freshen up at higher altitudes and will be moderate as the day progresses, rising to strong on the Main Alpine Ridge, blowing from the southwest.

The danger of dry avalanches will decrease, but only gradually on north-facing slopes. In addition, fresh drift snow will be prone to triggering and should be borne in mind. Gliding avalanches will still be possible.