Totes Gebirge South

Cold fresh snowdrifts!

Cold fresh snowdrifts!

Avalanche danger in Schladminger Tauern, Dachstein region and Totes Gebirge is considerable above the treeline. Stormy winds and fresh snow have led to massive snow transport. Caution urged particularly in N/E/S aspects, where slabs can be triggered even by minimum additional loading.

In the northern barrier cloud regions up to 50 cm of fresh snow has been registered. The new snow and fresh drifts now blanket surface hoar and/or soft layers in wind-protected terrain. A further potential weak layer could form inside the drifts themselves. The old snowpack is often weakened by faceted crystals surrounding weak layers: this constitutes a weak layer.

As of the morning there can be pauses in precipitation in the Northern Alps, even a bit of sunshine is possible. This afternoon between Dachstein and Mürzsteger Alps, widespread snowfall will set in, subsequently intensify on Friday night. A storm-strength NW wind will reach speeds of 80-120 km/hr.

Between Dachstein and Wechsel region it will snow all day long. In the focal points between Auseer and Mariazeller Land there could be 40-50 cm of fresh snow, more from place to place. South of the Niedere Tauern there will be less snowfall, least of all in the Koralm region (only 5 cm). Naturally triggered avalanches can be expected on Saturday.