Bregenzerwald Mountains

Beware fresh snowdrift accumulations

Beware fresh snowdrift accumulations

Freshly generated snowdrift accumulations are prone to triggering, occur particularly in ridgeline terrain, gullies and bowls in all aspects. Due to increasing winds and snowfall, frequency of danger zones increases with ascending altitude and during the course of the day. A single winter sports enthusiast can trigger medium-sized slab avalanches in some places, particularly on high-altitude steep shady slopes and in extremely steep terrain, which then trigger down to deeper layers inside the snowpack. In zones where there is rain impact, wet snowslides and avalanches are possible.

A small amount of fresh snow and drifts lie deposited on top of an often melt-freeze encrusted snowpack surface, otherwise atop surface hoar. Especially on steep shady slopes, the often unfavorable base and intermediate layers of the old snowpack have persisted. In zones with rain impact, the snowpack will be temporarily weakened.

Starting at midday skies will cloud over, persistent precipitation will often follow in the western barrier cloud regions. Snowfall level will descend from 1600m down to about 1100m. Temperature at 2000m: dropping from 0 to -3 degrees; at 3000m: -9 degrees. Brisk to strong-velocity southwesterly winds at high altitudes, later shifting to westerly and intensifying to storm strength.

As a result of more fresh snowfall and wind, avalanche danger will increase somewhat.