Nock Mountains

Danger of taking a fall outweighs that of being buried in snow

Danger of taking a fall outweighs that of being buried in snow

Avalanche danger is low, the major danger stems from snowdrifts. Particularly on very steep shady slopes above 2200m, slab avalanches can be triggered in isolated cases by minimum additional loading. Releases are mostly small-sized. Apart from th danger of being buried in snow masses, the risks of being swept along and forced to take a fall need to be taken into consideration.

The few cm of fresh fallen snow is being transported, then deposited on shady slopes atop an expansively metamorphosed snowpack surface. Apart from that the snowpack in wind-protected shady terrain is rewarding for skiers and boarders: expansively metamorphosed powder. From places to place there is surface hoar. In wind-exposed terrain the snowpack surface is highly varied.

On Sunday, limited visibility due to fog and clouds, intermittent rainfall or snowfall (5-15 cm expected, the snowfall level will descend from 1600 to 1000m). At 2000m: 0 to -4 degrees; at 3000m: -5 to -9 degrees. On Saturday night the southerly foehn wind will reach windspeeds of 80 km/hr in the Tauern, 50 km/hr in the Northern Alps, then slacken off significantly during the daytime hours, and then intensify once again on Sunday evening.

On Monday little change expected. On Tuesday, increasing danger due to fresh snow and wind.