Schladming Tauern South

Wet snow problem - increasingly frequent loose-snow avalanches

Wet snow problem - increasingly frequent loose-snow avalanches

Considerable avalanche danger at high altitudes. Main problem is still the naturally triggered wet loose-snow avalanches of medium size. Danger zones for slab releases limited to highest peaks in Schladminger Tauern and Dachstein region; the trigger-sensitive snowdrift accumulations occur mostly on shady slopes behind abrupt drops in the terrain, in gullies, steep bowls.

Due to a lack of nocturnal outgoing longwave radiation, the snowpack is soft already in the morning hours, the relatively high temperatures and solar radiation (direct and diffuse) cause further loss of snowpack firmness. The snowdrifts generated on Thursday are losing their internal tension. At intermediate altitudes the snowpack has lost its stability due to rainfall and is becoming increasingly wet. Below 1500 m the snow is rotten or the ground is bare.

The brief spell of high-pressure front conditions will come to an end on Sunday. On Saturday night, instable air masses from the west will cause weather to deteriorate. On Sunday morning the cloud cover will initially be in Upper Styria, later on also on the southern flank of the Alps, while summits will be shrouded in convective cloud. In the afternoon at latest, showers and thunderstorms can be expected in all regions. The S/SE winds will be light to start with. Temperatures will rise: at 2000 m to +5 degrees; at 1500 m to +9 degrees. On Monday, highly instable weather with some snowfall down to 1700 m. The air current will shift to northwesterly, the peaks will be hidden in fog. Temperatures will drop. Winds can become stormy.

Due to dropping temperatures the snowpack will regain some firmness. A snowdrift problem will again become relevant.