As a result of strong-velocity southerly foehn wind in some places, snowdrift accumulations have been generated in the foehn-exposed
regions more than anywhere else. These drifted masses lie deposited on top of expansively metamorphosed (faceted) old snow
on north-facing slopes in particular and are prone to triggering.
More deeply embedded inside the snowpack in the southern Valais as well as in the inneralpine and southern regions of Grisons,
weak layers are evident. Even though these weak layers are quite pronounced from place to place, since the end of February
there have been no further avalanche releases registered as triggering from them. In the remaining regions of Switzerland,
the snowpack structuring is more favourable.
During nocturnal hours when skies are frequently overcast, outgoing longwave radiation is reduced. Thereby, a melt-freeze
crust forms on steep south-facing slopes which is hardly capable of bearing loads. As a consequence of solar radiation and
daytime warming, wet slides and gliding avalanches are possible, more than anywhere else on the northern flank of the Alps
and on very steep, sunny slopes.
In the southern regions there is unusually little snow on the ground, at numerous measurement stations less than has ever
before been measured at this juncture of the season. As a consequence of the shallow, often expansively metamorphosed (faceted)
snowpack there is currently heightened danger of falling into crevices on the glaciers, most particularly in the southern
Valais and in southern Grisons.