The WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research (SLF) has issued an avalanche danger level 4 out of 5 on Friday for the lower Maggia valleys, the Riviera, the lower Leventina and the Blenio Valley. In the other areas, the avalanche danger is widely at level 3, considerable.
The reason is a lot of new and drifting snow on an unfavourable surface of old snow.
Avalanches could be triggered by individual winter sports enthusiasts in dangerous areas and spontaneous avalanches are also possible, according to the SLF website. Conditions are therefore unfavourable for snow sports away from prepared pistes.
According to the SLF, 30 to 50 cm of fresh snow fell from Sunday afternoon to Thursday afternoon above 2,000 metres above sea level on the southern slopes of the Alps, excluding the Münstertal and Bernina region, and 15 to 30 centimetres in the western Lower Valais and the other areas on the main Alpine ridge.
By Friday afternoon, there should be a further 15 to 30 centimetres of fresh snow on the main Alpine ridge from the Lukmanier Pass to the Bernina region and south of it, and 5 to 15 centimetres on the central and eastern northern slopes of the Alps, in the Gotthard region, the upper Maggia valleys, in the Sottoceneri, the rest of the Upper Engadine and in northern and central Graubünden.
On Saturday, a further 15 to 30 centimetres of fresh snow could fall in the south above 1,400 metres and the risk of avalanches is likely to increase further, especially in areas with lots of fresh snow. Wet slide and gliding snow avalanches are possible, especially at medium altitudes.
Translated from German with DeepL/mga
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