Stub and Gleinalpe

Moderate danger above timberline. Snowdrifts at high altitudes.

Moderate danger above timberline. Snowdrifts at high altitudes.

Above the timberline avalanche danger is moderate. Avalanche prone locations are where there are freshly generated snowdrifts, esp. in extended S/E facing terrain, which can be triggered even by 1 person. Particularly at entries into gullies and bowls, a slab can be triggered and reach small-to-medium size. On very steep grassy slopes or smooth rocky slopes, glide-snow avalanches can still be expected wherever the snow is deep enough.

The fresh snow of the last few days has been deposited on a melt-freeze encrusted snowpack surface above 1700 m. Bonding to the old snow is quite good, but inside the old snow weak layers of faceted crystals have formed, also inside snowdrift masses. Particularly on extended S/E facing slopes, the stormy NW winds have generated quite deep snowdrift accumulations. Due to rain impact in recent days, glide-snow avalanches can trigger at any time of day on very steep slopes up to intermediate altitudes.

Also on Friday the weather will take 2 different directions. In the Northern Alps the summits are mostly hidden in heavy clouds and repeated bouts of snowfall are expected, in the southern regions there will be little cloud and lots of sunshine (except in the morning, with isolated showers which can extend to the rimline ranges). High altitude winds will be strong, elsewhere brisk, from the northwest. At 2000 m: -8 degrees at midday. By Saturday morning in Niedere Tauern up to 20 cm of fresh snow is anticipated, in Totes Gebirge and Hochschwab up to 50 cm.

On Saturday the clouds will disperse in the Northern Alps. After high fogbanks disperse in the rimline ranges it will become a sunny day. Winds will slacken off somewhat. At 2000 m: -7 degrees, getting warmer in the evening. Trigger-sensitive snowpack accumulations above the treeline remain the main problem.