Lower Tauern South

Snowdrift accumulations prone to triggering on steep wind-loaded slopes

Snowdrift accumulations prone to triggering on steep wind-loaded slopes

Avalanche danger above the timberline is MODERATE, below that altitude danger is LOW. Avalanche prone locations are found in steep wind-loaded zones (gullies, steep bowls, forest clearances, etc.) and generally in ridgeline terrain in NE/E/S aspects. The freshly generated snowdrift accumulations often lie next to windblown, hardened knolls, easy to recognize. Fresh drifts are prone to triggering. In some places, even minimum additional loading is sufficient to trigger a small-to-medium slab avalanche. Above the treeline, the frequency of possible trigger points increases swiftly with ascending altitude.

Stormy W/NW winds, also northerly in high alpine regions, massively transported the old snow and the bit of fresh snow at the beginning of the week. These drifts now blanket the faceted old snow and also surface hoar on shady, wind-protedted terrain, in gullies, bowls and in forest clearances, i.e. potential fracture points; elsewhere mostly breakable wind crusts, and on sunny slopes melt-freeze crusts or moist old snow. The old snowpack is generally stable, tends towards fracture propagation only in isolated cases with large additional loading (in a faceted layer beneath the melt-freeze / rain crust which formed at the New Year.

On Wednesday, much sunshine, good visibility from the start. Winds light, no disturbance. At 2000 m: 0 degrees; at 3000 m: -5 degrees. On Thursday, poor conditions in the mountains. In the Northern Alps, often heavy snowfall, reduced visibility (as elsewhere), about 10-20 cm of new snow is anticipated, up to 30 cm in the Hohe Tauern. Winds will be strong to stormy from the west. At 2000 m: -9 degrees; at 3000 m: -17 degrees.

As a result of new snow and wind, danger zones will become more numerous, thus raising the danger level on Thursday.