Lower Tauern South

Persistent weak layer at high altitudes. Rising danger of wet-snow avalanches.

On Saturday, good visibility, sunshine, only high-altitude cloudbanks. Light to moderate southerly winds. At 2000 m: 3-8 degrees; at 3000 m: -3 to 0 degrees.

Considerable danger of wet-snow avalanches will continue on Sunday.

Persistent weak layer at high altitudes. Rising danger of wet-snow avalanches.

Avalanche danger above 2200 m is CONSIDERABLE, below that altitude danger is MODERATE. Dry-snow slab avalanches can release from the upper part of the snowpack on W/N/E facing slopes even by the weight of one person, mostly medium sized, but fractures down to deeper layers of the snowpack cannot be excluded. Danger zones increase with ascending altitude and are difficult to recognize. Fresh snowdrift accumulations from recent days are still prone to triggering in high alpine regions (>3000m) on very steep shady slopes.+ In addition, the danger of wet-snow avalanches will rapidly increase in the morning hours in all aspects below 2700 m. Medium, isolated large-sized wet-snow avalanches are possible during the course of the day. On extremely steep slopes, small naturally triggered loose-snow avalanches can be expected, and on steep grass-covered slopes in all aspects below 2600 m, small-to-medium glide-snow avalanches. Exercising personal restraint + terminating tours early in the day are recommended. Circumvent zones below glide-cracks when possible.

Friday night, skies will be only partly clear. A melt-freeze crust will form which is often not capable of bearing loads and will swiftly soften in the morning. The snowpack even on north-facing slopes has very few reserves of cold. With higher temperatures, moist air and solar radiation on Saturday, the snowpack will become still wetter, lose more firmness. Beneath the fresh snow from the last two days there is a weak layer of faceted crystals which led to large-sized avalanches in recent days from artificial triggerings. Also naturally triggered avalanches were observed. Weak layers more deeply embedded inside the snowpack, esp. on N/E facing slopes above 2600 m are evident. Snowdrifts only prone to triggering in isolated cases in high alpine regions, otherwise they have consolidated. At intermediate altitudes the old snow is thoroughly wet. Below 1600 m there is little snow on the ground.