Avalanche bulletin - Northern Westfjords | Northern Westfjords

Mon Jan 20

Considerable danger
Tue Jan 21

Considerable danger
Wed Jan 22

Considerable danger

Many avalanches fell in NE-snowstorm that lasted from Sunday to Wednesday last week. Thaw with rain on Sunday triggered several avalanches. Cooling temperatures on Monday should stabilize the snow a bit. SW-snowshowers on Monday and Tuesday. A thaw again and wet avalanches are possible.

The avalanche bulletin is at a regional scale. It does not necessarily represent avalanche danger in urban areas.

Avalanche problems in the area

Type

Persistent weak layer
Height

All heights
Aspect
Probability
Size

Persistant weak layer could exist under the old windslab in some areas.

Type

Wind-drifted snow
Height

All heights
Aspect
Probability
Size

Snow showers in strong SW wind on Monday and Tuesday.

Type

Wet snow
Height

All heights
Aspect
Probability
Size

Thaw on Wednesday could cause wet avalanches if some snow collects in the SW-snowshowers. Maybe possibility of bigger avalanches.

Snow layers and snow cover

Windslabs in mountains due to heavy snow accumulation in NE-storms. On Friday a week layer of facets was seen in a snowpit 80 cm down beneath the windslab. A thaw with rain on Sunday. According to automatic snow depth sensors the thaw has reached down about 40-80 cm in many places but under that the snow is still dry. When it cools on Monday the wet snow becomes stiff and the stability of the snow should increase in general. However, it should not be ruled out that weak layers can persist deep down. New windslabs can form in SW-snowshowers on Monday and Tuesday, but a thaw is in the forecast for Wednesday.

Recent avalanches

Many avalanches fell in the NE-storm last week. In the thaw on Sunday several avalanches fell in paths that had not released in the storm. E.g. in Önundarfjörður, Syðridalur by Bolungarvík and small avalanches fell in Kirkjubólshlíð by Ísafjörður.