Allgäu Alps West

Considerable avalanche danger at high altitudes due to trigger-sensitive fresh snow and drifts

Considerable avalanche danger at high altitudes due to trigger-sensitive fresh snow and drifts

Fresh fallen snow are increasingly prone to triggering with ascending altitude, can be triggered as a slab or a loose-snow avalanche even by one sole skier, esp. near ridgelines and in wind-loaded gullies and bowls. Frequency and size of danger zones increase during the day, and with ascending altitude. Naturally triggered: small slides and loose-snow avalanches in very steep terrain.

An additional 10 cm of fresh snow is expected tonight above 1100 m. Over the last 72 hours there has been 60-75 cm of fresh snow registered widespread, more from place to place. Drifts were deposited atop weak layers, naturally triggered avalanches have confirmed the proneness to triggering. Fresh snow and drifts from recent days have been able to settle and stabilize but are prone to triggering with ascending altitude. Particularly on shady slopes, the weak layers have persisted, most require large additional loading to trigger however.

Nocturnal hours: gray skies, snowfall above 1000 m but slackening off. Monday: clouds and fog veil the peaks, a bit of snowfall, clouds slowly dispersing from the north, but visibility will remain reduced. Most sunshine in high alpine regions above 2500 m. At 2000 m: -5 to -1 degree. Light to moderate E/NE winds.

It will become quite sunny in high alpine regions. Along the massifs there will be lots of fog but this will slowly rise and change to convective cloud. By mid-week it will be increasingly mild, making the wet-snow problem come to the foreground. The danger of dry-snow avalanches will recede.