It is with some concern that the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency looks at the forecasts. The Easter holidays have begun – and by tradition, many also on the Swedish side head out to the slopes. In some Swedish mountain areas, they will be met by the same weak snow layer that caused the avalanches in Norway, says Mattias Tarestad.
– On the other hand, they had much heavier snowfall in Norway than we are expected to get here. This means that the situation in Sweden is not nearly as serious. But you should also not interpret it as saying that it is completely safe here before Easter, because it is not.
The slope determines the most
Mattias Tarestad emphasizes that the most critical factor when it comes to avalanche risk is the slope of the hill, the steeper the slope, the greater the risk. Weather and temperature changes also play a big role.
– If you want to generalize something, you can bear in mind that rapid temperature changes, a lot of snow in a short time and the like almost always mean an increased danger. The faster something happens, the more dramatic its effect often becomes.
High risk levels
At the time of the heavy avalanches in Norway, people were at the highest risk level. It is designated as “high” avalanche risk and is 4 out of 5, where 4 is the highest we can achieve here in the Nordics according to Tarestad. In Sweden, in some mountain areas during the week it was at the second highest level, 3 out of 5, which is “significant” risk. Significant avalanche danger means that it is dangerous, not everywhere but in several places, notes Mattias Tarestad.
Can be changed quickly
On Maundy Thursday, the avalanche risk is now at level 2 out of 5, “moderate risk”. But according to the avalanche expert, this is something that can change quickly.
– It depends on the weather. It can be similar conditions for quite some time. But it can also change extremely much in a short time. So always check in the morning if the forecast we gave the night before is still correct.
Here on the Environmental Protection Agency’s website, you can see updated reports on current avalanche forecasts where you are.
