The Heavy Snow with Large Flakes (Crystals Agglomeration), Due to the Considerable Humidity in the Entire Air Column, Reached the Valley Floor Near the Riofreddo Hamlet (721m a.s.l.); Western Julian Alps, Tarvisio (UD), FVG, Italia
15-February-2022: in the narrow and internal valleys, in case of heavy precipitations, it often happens that the thermal 0°C (freezing point in free atmosphere) drops by many hundreds of meters, reaching the bottom of said valleys and causing vertical homothermics.
In this case, the downward drag of the freezing thermal limit, due to the heavy snowfall on the main surrounding mountains was as much as 800m vertically, passing from 1400m a.s.l. at the beginning of precipitation (rainy in the valley) to about 600m a.s.l. in the most intense phase with saturation of water vapor over the entire air column.
It is a particular phenomenon, but very frequent in mountain valleys sheltered (by imposing mountain ranges) from winds that would stir the air while maintaining a thermal gradient that would not be sufficient to keep snow down to the valley floor.
On the Pre-Alps, open to currents from the south, the snow limit remained around 1400m a.s.l., freezing thermal limit in the free atmosphere, only temporarily descending to 1100m a.s.l., while in the internal valleys, sheltered, the snow limit with accumulation on the ground has dropped to 600m a.s.l., having 0°C on an altitude difference of 800m (vertical homothermics).
The Heavy Snow with Large Flakes (Crystals Agglomeration), Due to the Considerable Humidity in the Entire Air Column, Reached the Valley Floor Near the Riofreddo Hamlet (721m a.s.l.); Western Julian Alps, Tarvisio (UD), FVG, Italia
15-February-2022: in the narrow and internal valleys, in case of heavy precipitations, it often happens that the thermal 0°C (freezing point in free atmosphere) drops by many hundreds of meters, reaching the bottom of said valleys and causing vertical homothermics.
In this case, the downward drag of the freezing thermal limit, due to the heavy snowfall on the main surrounding mountains was as much as 800m vertically, passing from 1400m a.s.l. at the beginning of precipitation (rainy in the valley) to about 600m a.s.l. in the most intense phase with saturation of water vapor over the entire air column.
It is a particular phenomenon, but very frequent in mountain valleys sheltered (by imposing mountain ranges) from winds that would stir the air while maintaining a thermal gradient that would not be sufficient to keep snow down to the valley floor.
On the Pre-Alps, open to currents from the south, the snow limit remained around 1400m a.s.l., freezing thermal limit in the free atmosphere, only temporarily descending to 1100m a.s.l., while in the internal valleys, sheltered, the snow limit with accumulation on the ground has dropped to 600m a.s.l., having 0°C on an altitude difference of 800m (vertical homothermics).