Avalanche bulletin and weather forecast Savoie

This avalanche translation of the Meteo France avalanche bulletin is produced mainly through an automated translation tool.  Please use it in conjunction with the French bulletin found at the above link.

N73300311
BULLETIN FOR ESTIMATING THE RISK OF AVALANCHES
FOR SAVOIE
Valid off marked and open trails
FOR MONDAY 31 MARCH 2008
(Drafted Sunday, March 30)

ESTIMATE OF RISK UNTIL MONDAY EVENING:
In any massive Savoie:
-- Above 1800/2000 m: RISK MARK - Level 3
-- Below 1800/2000 m: LIMIT RISK - Level 2.

WEATHER OVERVIEW UNTIL MONDAY EVENING:
Many clouds and precipitation. Limit rain-2000 to 1000/1300 m. The strong winds aloft South falters in the morning and then turns to the east. Foehn and Lombarde fade in the early morning and then steadily during the day. It expects 10 25 2000 m.
Isothermal 0 ° C to 2400 and 1400 meters.
Wind General to 3000 m: South to the South-East 50/80 and 20/40 night kph, South south-east then east, then north-north-westerly during the day 20/40, then 20/40 and 10/20 km / h.

SNOW CONDITIONS:
They remain good, with layers of snow on the ground that are closer to averages for the end of March but still mostly higher. There are 10 to 90 cm at 1500 m and 120 cm in Bauges and Beaufortain, 60 to 180 cm at 2000 m and 260 cm in Beaufortain. The lower limit of snow skiing ranges between 1000 and 1800 m.
The snow surface became wet and hardened by the regel morning below 1800/2000 m North steep slopes and until very high altitude, steep southern slopes, softens during the day and then extends humidification higher altitudes. The recent lighter snow remains essentially on slopes Northwest to north-east when it is not hardened by the wind mostly near the border. Monday, she coats of snow to-1500 m.

STABILITY OF SNOW COVER:
NATURAL ACTIVITY AND SOME WIND SLABS
The strong wind that blows from the South currently senior Bauges massive internal and generates a strong wind and Foehn Lombarde across the border until Vanoise and lower valleys form, with the recent snow still not consolidated, a few superficial new slabs more or less a little harsh at all altitudes and in a wide variety of exhibits (especially near the border). The snowplow moderate to strong East to South to the North and West is sometimes seen in all mass.
Other small surface slabs formed recently by strong winds from west to Northwest remain mostly peaks of the Bauges senior massive internal and on the edge of Piedmont. The adhesion of these slabs is not assured. Some have décrochées spontaneously in southern slopes in recent days, while others have been triggered accidentally or artificially at 2200 m.
The snow will still be expected mainly windy during the night. The slabs will be gradually covered with snow lighter.

Some natural attrition will occur over the precipitation.
Under 1500/1800 m, rain will encourage some cast and sometimes wet snow avalanches more or less onerous, sometimes taking entire snowpack in place. In sunny areas shortly (as in exposed slopes in the Northwest in the north-east), some may spill over roads. And such an overload the passage of one or more persons on skis, snowboards or snowshoes can promote their outbreak.
Above 1500/1800 m, it is superficial flows and avalanches rather mean drier snow (powder or slab more or less friable), which will occur in sufficiently steep slopes. A fortiori, a small surcharge as the passage of a single skier can be enough to trigger a surface slab more or less friable, or sometimes a buried slab but little thicker. A higher surcharge as the passage of several skiers sometimes can lead a fairly large amount of snow especially in the high mountains.

TREND LATER RISK:
Stationary or slightly down for Tuesday.

Weather updates France this newsletter everyday at 16h.