Wölz Tauern South

Persistent weak layer problem! Take particular care in gullies and bowls in northern and eastern exposures!

Persistent weak layer problem! Take particular care in gullies and bowls in northern and eastern exposures!

The avalanche risk is assessed as moderate above the tree line and low below. There is still a persistent weak layer problem in the northern and eastern exposures. In addition, fresh pillows of wind drifted snow could form in the same aspects, which can be triggered by low additional loads. Medium-sized slab avalanches are possible when breaking through the weak old snowpack. The danger areas are mainly located in the transition from little to more snow as well as behind terrain edges and in the entrance area of gullies and bowls. The avalanche prone locations are sometimes difficult to recognise due to a few centimetres of new fallen snow.

The total snow depth is well below average. With the southerly wind, thin pillows of wind drifted snow have formed in northern aspects. These cover a very variable and mostly hardness old snowpack. There is significantly more snow in shady gullies and bowls than on sunny slopes, some of which are partly bare up to 2000 metres. In the northern and eastern exposures, the snowpack is still weakened by layers with faceted crystals and floating snow (persistent weak layer problem!).

During the night, the clouds increase from the south and the wind dies down. On Wednesday, the mountains on the southern side of the Alps will be covered in fog. In the morning it will start to rain and snow along the Gurktal Alps, the southern Niedere Tauern and the Seetal Alps. The snowfall level fluctuates between 1000 and 1500 metres above sea level. The heaviest snowfall will be on Thursday night. The wind will pick up again during the day. In the afternoon, moderate to strong winds with gusts between 40 and 60 km/h from the south. The temperature at an altitude of 2000 metres will be around -2 degrees. The temperature at an altitude of 1500 metres will be between -1 and +1 degree. Amounts of new snow between a few centimetres in the northern Niedere Tauern and up to 10 cm between the Turracher Höhe and the Zirbitzkogel are expected.

An Italian low will bring snowfall and rain on Wednesday. The snowfall level will be between 800 and 1500 metres above sea level. There will be hardly any precipitation on the northern side of the Alps. The southerly wind will ease in the west. The avalanche risk increases slightly with the new fallen snow.