Savinja Alps and Carinthia

New fallen snow - strong northerly winds in the high alpine regions

New fallen snow - strong northerly winds in the high alpine regions

On Wednesday, precipitation started to fall in the north during the night. The snowfall level was initially at around 1500 m and quickly dropped. The snow weakened temporarily at midday on Thursday. After the passage of a cold front, a strong northerly wind blew, carrying New fallen snow and building up new snow layers on the southern flanks. Snow will continue on Friday, with more pronounced snow in the Kamnik-Savinja Alps and the eastern part of the Karavanke Mountains. A total of 20-30 cm of new fallen snow is expected to fall in the mountains.

New fallen snow and blowing snow are the main dangers. Danger is increased especially on slopes and in ravines, where the height of New fallen snow is higher due to snow accumulations.

In addition to new fallen snow, weak layers in the snowpack deeper in the snowpack can be a local problem. These weak layers are more prevalent in the axis above the forest. In particular, a large avalanche can be triggered if the load exceeds the load-bearing capacity of these layers.

The situation is challenging, and strong winds can lead to windfalls below the forest boundary. Visiting the mountains is not recommended!

In the mountains, 20-30 cm of dry and light snow is expected. A strong northerly wind is blowing in the snow, which will blow the snow down to the old base in many places. The previous snowfall has produced local accumulations of Graupel, which is a potentially dangerous Weak layer. Locally, the layers of Graupel are 5-10 cm thick, possibly more.

In old snow cover, the snow layers are mostly well connected. Deep below the surface, several weak layers of shreds and sheared grains occur, especially on the axial sides.

Mostly cloudy, with occasional snow, especially in the eastern mountains. There will be strong northerly winds, gusting to over 100 km/h. The wind will gradually die down during the night on Saturday. Temperatures will be around -4 °C at 1500 m and -8 °C at 2500 m. The cold temperatures will combine to give a very distinct feeling of cold in the mountains!

Saturday will be partly clear with occasional moderate cloud. Winds will ease and it will be slightly warmer again. On the sunny slopes, the snow will melt during the day and freeze overnight.