Mürzsteg Alps

CONSIDERABLE avalanche danger. Wide-ranging trigger-sensitive snowdrift accumulations well into forested zones

CONSIDERABLE avalanche danger. Wide-ranging trigger-sensitive snowdrift accumulations well into forested zones

Avalanche danger is CONSIDERABLE. Fresh snow and stormy NW winds have generated wide-ranging snowdrift accumulations in all aspects during the last few days. The drifted masses lie near to and distant from ridgelines, in steep gullies and bowls, near the edge of the treeline and in sparsely wooded zones. Weak layers in the fresh snow and drifts can be triggered by one person and grow to dangerously large size. Poor visibility makes assessment on-site very difficult. Also, there are isolated weak layers inside the snowpack which can be triggered due to the weight of the fresh snow and drifts - large and very-large sized avalanches can be the result. In steep zones where snowfall has been heaviest, naturally triggered avalanches are still possible. Whumpf noises and glide-cracks are clear and indisputable signals of imminent danger, indicating a highly instable snowpack.

On Saturday, stormy NW winds were blowing which have transported the fresh snow massively over the last few days, depositing it as brittle, bonded snowdrift accumulations down as far as the forests. As temperatures dropped during the day today the moistened snowpack stabilized and became encrusted. Weak layers occur inside the fresh snow and at the borders to the snowpack which are highly prone to triggering. Deeply embedded inside the snow cover are layers of faceted crystals bordering against melt-freeze crusts which weaken the entire snowpack. Summits and exposed terrain are utterly windblown.

Sunday will be cold, but the stormy conditions and fresh snowfall will come to an end. Winds will ease significantly, still strong in the morning. South of the Alps there will be mostly sunshine. Heavy clouds will persist north of the Alps, but not much snowfall and increasing sunshine. At 2000 m, -12 degrees.

Weather conditions are calming down. It will remain cold, danger will decrease.