Hochschwab Mountains

Moderate avalanche danger above timberline - Fresh snowdrift accumulations

Moderate avalanche danger above timberline - Fresh snowdrift accumulations

Avalanche danger above the timberline is moderate. Trigger-sensitive snowdrift patches are the cause of the avalanche prone locations, particularly on E/S aspects behind protruberances and in gullies, bowls. A small slab can be triggereed even by minimum additional loading. Near summits the surface is hard/icy: danger of falling. Poor visibility.

The snowpack is generally stable, on this the soft fresh snow of Thursday was deposited. On Saturday night there was 15-30 cm of additional snowfall registered, which fell amid increasingly stormy NW winds. The wind-transported snow generated trigger-sensitive snowdrift accumulations behind protruberances also distant from ridges, some of which are quite deep. Bonding of the soft snow to the melt-freeze crust beneath it is poor. Exposed summits and entries are often utterly windblown, hard, icy - danger of falling.

A northerly air current is bringing arctic air masses to the Eastern Alps. On Sunday, low lying cloud will persist, diffuse radiation, a bit of light snowfall at the start. The southern massifs are favored, no precipitation is expected, but also no sunshine. The NW winds will be brisk, even stormy on the eastern rim of the Alps. At 2000 m on the northern flank of the Alps: -10 degrees, at 1500 m -6 degrees. Gurktaler Alps and the rimline ranges will be milder: -7 to -4 degrees. On Monday, weather conditions will improve, particularly on the northern flank of the Alps, frequent sunshine is expected. The southern massifs will be stuck with lots of cloud, a bit of snowfall is possible. Winds will recede, temperatures increase.

Due to solar radiation on Monday, brief danger of increased naturally triggered avalanches.