Bregenzerwald Mountains

Beware fresh snowdrift accumulations, they can easily be triggered

Beware fresh snowdrift accumulations, they can easily be triggered

Medium-sized slab avalanches can easily be triggered by one single person in the drifts and in the old snow. Danger zones occur in wind-loaded steep terrain, behind drops in the landscape and in gullies and bowls. Avalanche prone locations are not visible to the naked eye and make a defensive route selection imperative. Superficially triggered avalanches can fracture down to deeper layers of the snowpack and then grow to larger size. Danger zones increase in frequency and size with ascending altitude.

Tonight, 5-10cm of snowfall is anticipated, in the Rätikon up to 20cm of fresh snow. The often trigger-sensitive snowdrift accumulations from recent days will be blanketed, making them difficult to see. As a result of northerly winds, fresh, trigger-sensitive snowdrift accumulations will be generated at high altitudes. Particularly on steep shady high-altitude slopes, the fresh snow and drifts will cover a weak old snowpack. Over the last few days, graupel, in wind-protected zones also surface hoar or trigger-sensitive, thin melt-freeze crusts have been blanketed by fresh snow. Snow profiles, successful artificial triggerings with explosives and observations in outlying terrain confirm just how weak the snowpack structuring is.

Recent snow showers will taper off, sunshine will eliminate remaining clouds and fog. As evening approaches, skies will again become cloudy from the northwest and westerly winds will intensify. On Sunday night, widespread snowfall will set in, strong-velocity westerly winds will make the snowfall level ascend to nearly 1500m. Temperature at 2000m: -9 degrees; at 3000m: -12 degrees. Light to moderate winds at high altitudes, shifting increasingly to westerly, then intensifying measurably in the evening.

As a result of heavy snowfall and storm-strength winds, avalanche danger will increase significantly on Monday.