Meteo France have just issued a special bulletin on the unusual avalanche risk that is present in the Northen French Alps at the moment. You can see the original click here.
This kind of special bulletin is quite unusual and reflects a significant concern that people may not appreciate the risks. Conditions have been stable for much of the season with only a few weeks of instability. Each of those weeks have resulted in some fatal accidents. The next few days represent another of these unusual patches of instability.
This is a translation
Special Release Avalanches of Météo-France
written on FRIDAY, MARCH 30, 2018 AT 16:07
Avalanche risks still considerable in the Alps: an unusual situation at this time of the year.
The snowpack is very unusual for the season in all the mountains of the Northern French Alps and Hautes-Alpes: it is very consistent, sometimes reaching a record high above 2000 meters altitude; it still of winter nature in shady slopes that do not get sunshine. In addition, we expect two more significant snow events over the weekend.
As a result, the risk of avalanches remains at least “considerable” (level 3) Saturday and Sunday in the mountains of Hautes-Alpes, Isère, Savoie and Haute-Savoie; they could even become “High” (level 4) Monday on some massifs as temperatures rise.
Météo-France, therefore, draws the attention of mountain practitioners to the still wintery nature of the snowpack and the risks of avalanches, which are not just in the high mountains.
During the whole Easter weekend, this particular situation encourages us to recommend the utmost caution and to bring all the appropriate safety equipment before considering leaving marked and secured trails.
For more information on the weather conditions and the risks of avalanches in the mountains, you can consult the “mountain” pages of the Météo-France website (www.meteofrance.com ), as well as the Météo France and Météo Ski mobile applications.
You can also find out locally from mountain professionals. Read the HAT snow report
Press contact:
– Météo France Grenoble
– E-mail: focal.alpes@meteo.fr
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