Hochschwab Mountains

Fresh wind slab, moderate avalanche danger above the tree line!

Fresh wind slab, moderate avalanche danger above the tree line!

The avalanche risk is moderate above the tree line and low below. The persistent weak layer problem is still present and is currently exacerbated by fresh wind slab. The avalanche prone locations are mainly on north to south-east facing slopes above the tree line. Here, fresh and older snowdrift accumulations can be triggered by individuals as slab avalanches in some places.

A total of up to 20 cm of new fallen snow has fallen since Saturday. Stormy north-westerly winds and later southerly winds led to drifts. The snow base, fundament is weakened by snow-covered surface hoar and floating snow.

The evening and night into Thursday will be increasingly cloudy, but there will still be no precipitation. Thursday will also start mainly dry. It may even clear up briefly in places. However, dense clouds will quickly gather from the south-west in the morning and the mountain peaks will become increasingly foggy. In the afternoon it will start to snow south of the main Alpine ridge. The temperature at an altitude of 2000 metres will be around -3 degrees during the day, with a marked cooling in the evening and during the night on Friday. Winds from the south will be strong at first, becoming increasingly north-westerly to north-easterly in the evening.

Heavy snowfall is expected during the night from Thursday to Friday. The risk of avalanches is increasing.