Totes Gebirge South

Considerable avalanche danger above the treeline - easily triggered snowdrifts

Considerable avalanche danger above the treeline - easily triggered snowdrifts

Main danger: freshly generated snowdrift accumulations. The transported snow is brittle and often prone to triggering, esp. on NE/S facing slopes behind abrupt drops in the terrain. Gullies and bowls can be filled to the brim in all aspects, danger zones increase with ascending altitude. Small-to-medium sized slab avalanches can be triggered by one person.

Since last Sunday winter has returned to the mountains in Upper Styria: stormy winds and up to 45 cm of fresh snow by Tuesday evening between Dachstein and Totes Gebirge, deposited atop a melt-freeze encrusted old snowpack surface. Winds have created new drifts, bonding is often poor. Slabs can trigger both in the fresh snow and at the border to the old snow. Where there was previously no snow on the ground, too little fresh snow has fallen for good backcountry tours.

On Tuesday evening, briefly clear skies before on Tuesday night a warm front traverses the Eastern Alps. Thereby the NW air current weakens and the stormy winds ease. In addition, temperatures will noticeably rise. During the day, gray skies, minor snowfall possible on the northern flank of the Alps, though the snowfall level will ascend to about 1500m. Winds will be brisk from the west. At 2000 m: -4 degrees; at 1500m : -1 degree. Also on Thursday, gray skies but further rising temperatures.

Due to warmth the danger of slab avalanches will slowly recede, the danger of loose-snow avalanches will increase.