Avalanche/landslide High avalanche danger on the southern side of the Alps due to fresh snow
After heavy snowfall in recent days, the avalanche risk on the southern side of the Alps is high. There is a lot of new and drifting snow on an unfavorable surface of old snow. And in parts of Graubünden it has snowed more than it has all winter.
14.03.2025, 08:50
14.03.2025, 10:04
SDA
On Friday, the WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research (SLF) issued an avalanche danger level 4 out of 5 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.
According to the SLF, 30 to 50 cm of fresh snow fell from Sunday afternoon to Thursday afternoon above 2000 meters above sea level on the southern slopes of the Alps, excluding the Münstertal and Bernina area, and 15 to 30 centimetres in the western Lower Valais and the other areas on the main Alpine ridge.
In parts of Graubünden, especially in the Valser Tal and Val Lumnezia, up to 63 cm of fresh snow fell within 24 hours. This is more than in the whole of last winter, wrote the Federal Office of Meteorology (MeteoSwiss) on X. These are exceptional amounts of fresh snow for March.
More snowfall expected
According to the SLF, 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 by Friday afternoon, 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 meters and the risk of avalanches is likely to increase further, especially in areas with lots of fresh snow. Moist landslide and sliding snow avalanches are possible, especially at medium altitudes.
Avalanches could be triggered by individual winter sports enthusiasts in the endangered areas and spontaneous avalanches are also possible, according to the SLF website. The conditions are therefore unfavorable for snow sports away from the secured pistes.
