ALERT: Avoid all potential avalanche terrain in Svalbard on Tuesday; Level Four (‘High’) risk level declared

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A Level Four risk of avalanches, the second-highest possible, has been declared for all of Svalbard on Tuesday, prompting a warning not to travel in any potential at-risk areas, although city officials said there is no apparent danger to buildings.

The risk assessment was elevated one level Tuesday morning following heavy snow and winds exceeding 70 kilometers an hour Monday night and early Tuesday. The Norwegian Avalanche Center’s monitoring website states all of Svalbard is at risk of wind slab avalanches.

“Strong wind will lead to a large amount of wind-transported snow,” the website notes. “Avoid all avalanche terrain. Naturally triggered avalanches likely.”

A return to a Level Three risk level is expected on Wednesday.

The Governor of Svalbard reported no significant incidents as of Tuesday morning.

Winds are expected to decrease throughout the day, and little or no snow is forecast for the next several days. Temperatures are expected to gradually drop to minus 24 degrees Celsius on Thursday before rapidly rising to several degrees below zero.

About Post Author

Mark Sabbatini

I'm a professional transient living on a tiny Norwegian island next door to the North Pole, where once a week (or thereabouts) I pollute our extreme and pristine environment with paper fishwrappers decorated with seemingly random letters that would cause a thousand monkeys with a thousand typewriters to die of humiliation. Such is the wisdom one acquires after more than 25 years in the world's second-least-respected occupation, much of it roaming the seven continents in search of jazz, unrecognizable street food and escorts I f****d with by insisting they give me the platonic tours of their cities promised in their ads. But it turns out this tiny group of islands known as Svalbard is my True Love and, generous contributions from you willing, I'll keep littering until they dig my body out when my climate-change-deformed apartment collapses or they exile my penniless ass because I'm not even worthy of washing your dirty dishes.

marksabbatini@yahoo.com

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