Lower Tauern South

Storm winds and small snowdrift accumulations

Storm winds and small snowdrift accumulations

Snowdrift danger above 1600 m is MODERATE, below that altitude danger is LOW, but storm winds vary hugely over smallest spaces. Danger zones of fresh snowdrift accumulations are frequent between forest rims and terrain distant from ridgelines. Gullies, bowls and protruberances are the potential hot spots. Further up the terrain is windblown. Avalanches are generally small-sized. Further towards the Tauern the drifts are larger. Towards the south, winds do not transport as much.

Exposed terrain is windblown, wind-pressed or melt-freeze encrusted. The new snowdrift accumulations lie deposited atop encrusted surfaces or old powder which is a potential weak layer. Below that there is old snow on north-facing slopes and in shallow-snow zones which is riddled with faceted crystals (granular snow).

Sunday will bring heavy storm winds. In exposed zones, gale-strength gusts (80-100 km/hr), on Saturday night intermittent snowfall (5-10 cm, heavily windblown). In the afternoon on Sunday, clouds will disperse, temperatures drop. At 2000 m: -8 degrees and dropping. On Monday, snowfall will set in during the course of the day. In the northern barrier cloud regions, intensively (15-35 cm in 24 hours), accompanied by storm-strength NW winds. At 2000 m: -8 degrees.

Increasing avalanche danger due to abundant fresh snow between Monday and Wednesday