Bregenzerwald Mountains

Main danger: fresh + older snowdrift accumulations and weak snow on very steep shady slopes

Main danger: fresh + older snowdrift accumulations and weak snow on very steep shady slopes

As a result of brisk to strong SW/W windss, trigger-sensitive snowdrift accumulations are being generated. In addition, above 2200 m, on very steep shady slopes, unfavourably layered snow is evident. Danger zones are found especially in steep ridgeline terrain, in wind-loaded gullies and bowls and behind abrupt discontinuities in the terrain. Small, in isolated cases medium-sized slab avalanches can be triggered even by one sole winter sports enthusiast. This needs to be taken into consideration in all activities in outlying terrain. Apart from the risks of being buried in snow masses, the danger of being swept along and forced to take a fall require full attention.

On Tuesday, skies were mostly overcast and there was a bit of fresh snowfall. The W/SW winds at high altitude were mostly moderate, stronger at higher altitudes, thus generating new snowdrifte accumulations in ridgeline and pass areas. Above 1000-1500 m, up to 10 cm of fresh snow was registered with wind impact, much less in the Arlberg and Silvretta regions. The fresh snow and drifts were deposited atop a very cold, loose snowpack surface, sometime atop surface hoar. The fresh and older snowdrifts are prone to triggering. Particularly on very steep shady slopes above 2200 m the old snowpack from late autumn is still expansively metamorphosed (faceted). Such intermediate layers are prone to triggering by additional loading from winter sports enthusiasts and are not recognizable to the naked eye.

On Tuesday night: heavily overcast skies, dry in the early part of the night, then from Switzerland into the Rhine Valley and Bregenzerwald light snow showers are possible. Wednesday: windy weather, poor visibility due to clouds, fog later on. Temperatures rising another notch, zero-degree level just below 2000 m. Mostly dry in the morning, diffuse light, clouds lowering, shrouding the peaks, snowfall by evening in Bregenzerwald and Allgau Alps, snowfall level at 1000 - 1500 m. Not much snowfall expected. On the Arlberg and in the Silvretta, hardly any at all. Temperature at 2000 m: -4 to -1 degree. Brisk to strong SW/W winds at high altitude.

Thursday: initially quite sunny, then clouds from the south will move in, bring a few snowflakes in the afternoon. Temperatures at 2000 m: 0 degrees: Brisk southerly winds, in the classic foehn lanes stormy gusts from the south. Avalanche danger levels are not expected to change significantly.