Mürzsteg Alps

Fresh snowdrifts and weak layers in the old snowpack are causing CONSIDERABLE avalanche danager above the treeline

Fresh snowdrifts and weak layers in the old snowpack are causing CONSIDERABLE avalanche danager above the treeline

Avalanche danger above the treeline is CONSIDERABLE, below the treeline danger is LOW. Fresh snow plus gale-strength NW winds are generating fresh snowdrift accumlations in all aspects. Requiring particular caution: entry points into steep gullies and bowls, and snowdrift accumulations behind abrupt discontinuities in the terrain. The snowdrifts are themselves signals of danger, can often be triggered by one person and release medium sized slab avalanches. Due to the storm-strength winds, even in forest lanes and at forest edges, snowdrifts can accumulate, but here, the slab releases are expected to be small sized. Exposed zones are utterly windblown.

Amid stormy winds and a bit of fresh snow, fresh snowdrift accumulations will be generated by Wednesday evening and deposited in all aspects in wind-protected terrain, including distant from ridgelines and in forest lanes. Weak layers occur inside the fresh drifts and also in transitions to other layers of the snowpack. More deeply embedded inside the snowpack are faceted crystals bordering on melt-freeze crusts, generally triggerable only be large additional loading.

On Tuesday night and Wednesday, only a bit of fresh snow (snowfall level 800-1000m). Stormy NW winds will generated intense snow transport. Some sunshine will peek through. At 2000 m: -7 degrees. On Thursday, heavily overcast all day long, with intensifying precipitation over the morning. Persistent and intensive snowfall in the afternoon. Strong to stormy NW winds.

Fresh snow and storm-strength winds are causing avalanche danger levels to rise.