Hochschwab Mountains

Above the treeline, heed wet-snow avalanche activity threat

Above the treeline, heed wet-snow avalanche activity threat

Avalanche danger above the treeline is moderate all day long, below that altitude danger is low. Wet loose-snow and slab avalanches of medium size can be expected on steep slopes which have not yet discharged. Also below the treeline in terrain which has not yet discharged, isolated small-to-medium wet-snow avalanches can trigger. Minor rainfall up to 1800-2000 m in late afternoon will deliver an additional impulse for wet-snow avalanche activity. On steep grass-covered slopes the gliding movement of the snowpack is increasing, glide-cracks should be seen as indicators of imminent danger and circumvented.

Due to persistent warmth the snowpack as been moistened up to high altitudes. Also on Sunday the wetness will increase amid diffuse solar radiation and minor rainfall in the late afternoon, before temperatures subsequently drop at high altitudes. On sunny slopes the snowpack is thoroughly wet up to high altitudes, on west-facing and east-facing slopes the wetness proceeds swiftly and the snowpack is losing its stability. On shady slopes the snowpack below the treeline has few reserves of cold and is moist on the surface. Above the treeline there are more reserves of cold. In isolated cases on shady high altitude slopes there are weak layers inside the snowpack which can be activated by subsequent wetness. At low altitudes there is only a fragmented snowpack and this is losing stability increasingly through wetness.

Sunday will begin with pleasant conditions, sunshine, but clouds will soon increase and veil the peaks in fog by afternoon. Precipitation is expected only in isolated cases towards evening. As winds shift to northwesterly, temperatures will drop from the north. At 2000 m: 2 degrees at midday in the Northern Alps, 5 degrees on the southern flank of the Alps. Monday will being heavily overcast, some rainfall is possible between Dachstein and Hochschwab, above 1400 m a bit of snowfall. Visibility will be poor, the summits often shrouded in fog. Also in southern regions, a bit of rainfall is not to be ruled out. During the daytime, dry weather will take over, the clouds disperse, some sunshine is possible. Brisk NW winds, temporarily colder. At 2000 m in the northern regions: -2 degrees; in the southern regions +1 degree.

The wet-snow problem will temperarily recede at high altitudes due to lower temperatures. Below 1400 m, minor rainfall will lead to further wetness of the snowpack. No significant change in avalanche danger levels is expected.