Saas Fee

Moderate avalanche danger will be encountered over a wide area

Moderate avalanche danger will be encountered over a wide area

In very isolated cases avalanches can be released in the old snowpack and reach medium size. These avalanche prone locations are to be found especially on very steep north facing slopes. The avalanche prone locations are rare but are barely recognisable. Careful route selection is recommended. The wind slabs of the last few days are to be evaluated with care and prudence in very steep terrain.

The fresh fallen snow and freshly generated snowdrifts of recent days are stabilizing to an increasing degree. On the northern flank of the Alps the snowpack is quite favourably structured over widespread areas. Avalanches can be triggered in surface-near layers more than anywhere else. From the southern Valais over the northern Ticino into the inneralpine regions of Grisons, there are weak layers evident inside the old snowpack. From these layers, isolated large-sized avalanches were triggered by persons during the last week. These avalanche prone locations occur seldom, but they are not detectable. On the southern flank of the Alps there is extraordinarily little snow on the ground, at numerous measurement stations less than has ever before been measured at this juncture of the season. The snowpack shows great effect from wind impact and warmth and is highly irregular.

Following a night of clear skies it was sunny during the daytime hours. Fresh snow: - Temperature: At midday at 2000 m, between -3 °C in the western regions and -9 °C in the eastern regions. Wind: - In the Jura region and the western Prealps a moderate to strong velocity bise wind was blowing during the nocturnal hours; - in the other regions of Switzerland winds were blowing at light to moderate strength from easterly to northeasterly directions. Following a night of clear skies, it will be sunny in the mountains during the daytime hours. Fresh snow: - Temperature: At midday at 2000 m, -2 °C in the western regions, -5 °C in the eastern regions and 0 °C in the southern regions. Wind: - Winds at high altitudes and in the southern regions will be blowing at moderate to strong velocity from northeasterly directions during the course of the day; - in the other regions of Switzerland, blowing at light to moderate strength.

On both days it will be predominantly sunny in the mountains and incrementally it will become milder. During Monday night, a strong-velocity northerly wind will still be blowing in some high-altitude regions, in the other regions of Switzerland winds will generally be light. The danger of dry-snow avalanches will continue to decrease, however only slowly in the inneralpine regions. On steep sunny slopes, gliding avalanches continue to be possible.