Mürztal Alps

Moderate avalanche danger above treeline, due to snowdrifts

Moderate avalanche danger above treeline, due to snowdrifts

Above the timberline, moderate avalanche danger prevails, as a result of snowdrift accumulations. Danger zones occur initially in N/E/S aspects, particularly behind protruberances and at entries into gullies and bowls, where in isolated cases a slab avalanche can be triggered even by one person.

The snowpack base is thin, melt-freeze encrusted and compact due to warm phases and rain impact. Atop of it on Saturday, up to 30 cm of fresh snow was deposited with variable-strength NW and S winds, transporting the snow and depositing new drifts on N/E/S facing slopes. Weak layers inside the fresh snow have been preserved by the cold. Furthermore, in transitions from the warm snowpack base to the cold fresh snow/drifts, a weak layer can form.

On Tuesday, some sunshine, but clouds will move in during the afternoon and towards evening light snowfall will set in from the south. Temperatures at 2000 m will be -2 degrees. Winds will be light all day long.

Wednesday will bring clouds amd moderate NW winds, strong in eastern regions. In the northern barrier cloud regions a bit of snowfall is anticipated, possibly heavier in the eastern mountain ranges. The snowdrift problem from the weekend will diminish, only in the furthermost eastern regions will a new snowdrift problem be generated.