Arolla

Snowpack

Over the past two weeks, some snow fell in the high mountains, with the largest amounts along the main Alpine ridge from the Monte Rosa region to the Bernina region. This snow has partly undergone faceting. Further snowfall is expected on Wednesday. On shady slopes in the high mountains, the fresh snow will fall on a partly continuous old snowpack. In these areas, fractures may occur at the interface between the old and fresh snow, particularly on glaciers. Elsewhere, the snow will generally fall on bare ground. In these areas, weak layers are most likely to occur within the fresh snow and wind slabs.

Outlook

Thursday

During the night to Thursday, some precipitation will persist in the north. During the day, it will be mostly sunny, but remain cloudy in the east. The wind will be moderate to strong from the northwest.

The danger of dry avalanches will gradually decrease. Wet loose snow avalanches are to be expected on steep sun-exposed slopes in the high mountains.

Friday

On Friday, it will be variably cloudy with occasional precipitation, especially in the west. In the east, it will remain dry with sunny intervals. The snowfall level will be around 1500 m. The southwesterly wind will strengthen, reaching storm force, with a southerly foehn in the Alpine valleys.

The southwesterly wind may give rise to wind slabs that are prone to triggering. In the high mountains, people can still trigger avalanches, particularly on steep north-facing slopes.