Lower Tauern South

Foehn winds blew on Friday, on Saturday strong northerly winds again

Foehn winds blew on Friday, on Saturday strong northerly winds again

Avalanche danger above the timberline is CONSIDERABLE, below that altitude MODERATE. Wind impact and unfavourable layering in the old snow have created many danger zones, their number and their spread increasing with ascending altitude. Triggering a medium-to-large slab avalanche is possible even by the weight of one single person. At intermediate and low altitudes, also naturally triggered glide-snow avalanches are possible on steep grass-covered slopes.

Exposed terrain is often utterly windblown, gullies and bowls are filled to the brim with drifts. Wind-crusts often dominate. Snow quality is much better in wind-protected terrain. Bonding of individual snowdrift masses worsens with ascending altitude. Above 2200 m, particularly in northern aspects beneath the melt-freeze crust from mid-November there are soft, weak layers (persistent weak layer) which can be triggered by large additional loading, e.g. from a superficial triggering.

On Saturday the peaks will frequently be shrouded in cloud, visibility will often be limited by snowfall (10 cm fresh snow). Brisk W/NW winds will be blowing. Temperature at 2000 m: -8 degrees; at 3000 m: -13 degrees.. On Sunday, visibility will improve in the morning, intermittent sunshine expected over the midday hours. Towards evening cloud cover will move in. Winds will remain mostly light. At 2000 m: -7 degrees; at 3000 m: -10 degrees.

Little change in the avalanche situation on Sunday.