Lower Tauern South

Fresh wind slab prone to triggering.

Fresh wind slab prone to triggering.

The avalanche danger is low. With new fallen snow and stormy winds from the northwest, fresh prone-to-triggering snow packs have been forming for a few days, which can be triggered by individuals in a few places from around 2200 metres. Most avalanches remain small, but enough snow could accumulate in isolated terrain traps to bury people. Be careful behind exposed ridges and ridgelines, in gullies and bowls. In shady slopes, there are still very occasional release points in persistent weak layers that are difficult to disturb. The drift snow packs are easier to recognise than weakly covered stones.

The snow cover, snowpack is highly variable. On the surface, in leeward areas, there is a succession of fresh drift snow layers on the melt-freeze crust of the old snow surface. Fractures are most possible here, the drift snow layers are rather poorly connected to each other and to the melt-freeze crust. Underneath, there is usually edgy snow with no binding. Due to the overall heavily built-up transformed snow cover, the potential for fracture propagation in the old snowpack is generally low. The snow depth is well below average at all altitudes.

During the night to Thursday, some snow will fall, especially in the northern Alps and east of the Salzach up to the Niedere Tauern, with 5 to 10 cm possible. The wind will continue to blow strongly at high altitudes and will only ease in the morning hours. On Thursday, residual clouds will soon clear and it will be mostly sunny. High cloud fields will cloud the sky somewhat at times. The westerly winds will be much weaker than the day before, usually reaching speeds of around 30 km/h and 50 km/h at higher altitudes. Temperatures will continue to rise, from -8 to -4 degrees at 2000 metres and from -14 to -9 degrees at 3000 metres.

The avalanche danger remains low on Friday.