Mount Duranno "Transatlantic Shoulder" Protects the Old Snow on the Ground, Under Which, As Is Well Known, Bread Grows; Friuli Dolomites, Pordenone, Italia
24-January-2022: the wide flat valley that runs from Cimolais to Claut is closed in all directions and this means that the deposit of cold (heavy) air on the valley floor is difficult to move.
In fact, the snow on the ground, although dating back 1 month and a half earlier, resists better on the valley floor than along the slopes, including those in the shade, which have no thermal inversion, but the mild air brought by the omnipresent African anticyclone.
So, in this situation, along the slopes, immediately above the thin but icy layer of thermal inversion, with average values of 7°C at 1500m and 3°C at 2500m, the snow is constantly melting, even during the night and on all sides.
Snow is cause and effect in the valley, as its presence (albedo) favors and increases the thermal inversion in the months with long nights and short sunshine and the latter prevents it from melting.
Compared to the previous photo, this is the large part of the valley that is sunny for a few hours, but in the face of -10°C at night the sun can do little in January, melting a minimum part of surface snow which then freezes already in the evening, making the snow mantle most compact and resistant.
Mount Duranno "Transatlantic Shoulder" Protects the Old Snow on the Ground, Under Which, As Is Well Known, Bread Grows; Friuli Dolomites, Pordenone, Italia
24-January-2022: the wide flat valley that runs from Cimolais to Claut is closed in all directions and this means that the deposit of cold (heavy) air on the valley floor is difficult to move.
In fact, the snow on the ground, although dating back 1 month and a half earlier, resists better on the valley floor than along the slopes, including those in the shade, which have no thermal inversion, but the mild air brought by the omnipresent African anticyclone.
So, in this situation, along the slopes, immediately above the thin but icy layer of thermal inversion, with average values of 7°C at 1500m and 3°C at 2500m, the snow is constantly melting, even during the night and on all sides.
Snow is cause and effect in the valley, as its presence (albedo) favors and increases the thermal inversion in the months with long nights and short sunshine and the latter prevents it from melting.
Compared to the previous photo, this is the large part of the valley that is sunny for a few hours, but in the face of -10°C at night the sun can do little in January, melting a minimum part of surface snow which then freezes already in the evening, making the snow mantle most compact and resistant.