Lower Tauern South

New and wind slab snow on weak old snowpack

New and wind slab snow on weak old snowpack

The avalanche risk is moderate above around 1800 metres and low below. The situation is precarious for winter sports. Heat input leads to a better formed snow slab. Medium-sized slab avalanches can be triggered by individuals in some places, especially from west to north to east, but also in a few places in the southern sector. Fractures in the fresh wind slab can tear through the persistent weak layer and tend to propagate. Avalanche-prone locations in the persistent weak layer are barely recognisable and should be assessed defensively. The regions close to the border with fresh snow tend to be more dangerous.

Locally there is up to 20 cm of mostly soft new fallen snow on the wind-treated snow surface. Areas with little snow alternate with considerable snowdrift accumulations, some of which are as hard as a board and some of which are already building up. Breaks usually occur between the fresh and slightly older layers of drift snow or near the crust that forms the transition to the completely angular old snowpack. Under this crust, the old snowpack consists mainly of deep rime and angular forms, which are interspersed with other crusts in areas with more snow. On the ground, snow from early winter can sometimes be found in the form of a hardness melt-freeze crust.

Friday will be mostly cloudy, with limited visibility at higher altitudes at times. In the afternoon, snowfall from the west and rain below around 1500 metres, but it will probably remain dry in Lungau. The wind will be weak to moderate from the west at all altitudes. Temperatures at 2000 metres will be around -2 degrees, at 3000 metres around -8 degrees.

The wind slab problem is slowly improving, but the persistent weak layer problem remains.