Hochschwab Mountains

Favorable conditions for backcountry tours continue

Favorable conditions for backcountry tours continue

Low danger prevails in Styria. Isolated avalanche prone locations occur on N/E-facing slopes, where there is a persistent weak layer (deeply embedded). A slab avalanche triggering on extremely steep shady slopes cannot be ruled out.Since the loose powder cover cannot bond with the crusts beneath it, there is acute risk of falling on very steep slopes.

Along the Niedere Tauern and Northern Alps the compact old snowpack is melt-freeze encrusted and, depending on aspect, more or less capable of bearing loads. While sunny slopes have melt-freeze crusts, shady slopes have hardened, often icy surfaces. Atop them in wind-protected zones is often loose powder, mostly without bonding to the old snowpack beneath. Also in shady forest lanes the snow is (because of the cold) unbonded and quite loose. South of the Mur-Mürz Rift the snowpack is also stable, snow depths are meagre. Melt-freeze and wind crusts tend to dominate. In zones where the snow is shallow the snowpack is expansively metamorphosed (faceted).

The Eastern Alps lie at the edge of a high-pressure front whose center lies over the North Sea. On its eastern flank, very clod and moderately moist air masses are flowing into Styria. On Monday along the Northern Alps and Tauern, low-lying clouds will continually move in, interrupted by short sunny phases. The higher peaks will often disappear in fog, a bit of minor snowfall is possible. The Gurktal and Seetal Alps as well as the Koralpe and Stubalpe are favored on the leeward flank, sunshine will be the result. In the mountains (exception: western Northern Alps) a strong velocity northerly wind will be blowing as of afternoon. In the northern massifs, the temperatures at midday at 2000 m: -13 degrees; at 1500 m: -10 degrees. In the southern massifs it will be noticeably warmer: -8 to -4 degrees. Starting on Tuesday, the Eastern Alps will be caught increasingly in the grip of an Omega High. Cold, dry air masses will flow into often cloudless skies. This stable weather could well last until next weekend.

As a result of the intensifying northerly wind, the loose powder on north and east-facing slopes can be transported to south-facing slopes. Particularly near ridges the snowdrift dangers could increase again.