Lower Tauern South

Temperatures rising. Beware gliding snow.

Temperatures rising. Beware gliding snow.

Avalanche danger is MODERATE. Due to rising temperatures and lots of solar radiation, glide-snow avalanches continue to be the main danger: in all aspects at any time of day or night, medium-sized when triggering from terrain which has not yet discharged, plummeting down to greenlands, esp. in starting zones in extended north-facing terrain. Avoid zones below glide-cracks. As the day progresses, likelihood of small loose-snow slides will increase on sunny slopes and in rough and rocky terrain in all aspects.

The old snowpack on W/N/E facing slopes is often isotherm, largely wet down to the ground. On sunny slopes, bare of snow up to high altitudes. With the cold front on Wednesday a melt-freeze crust could often form, atop this there was 5-15 cm of fresh snow registered, well bonded. Due to high air moisture, the fresh snow became sticky on Wednesday, often moist up to 2300 m. Weak layers are not evident, the fresh snow is rapidly settling. In terrain which has not yet discharged, the snowpack can glide away over steep grass-covered slopes and plummet down to greenlands.

The cold snap was short, on Wednesday evening the clouds will disperse, overnight skies will clear, though fog and residual clouds will persist longer in the valleys. On the mountaintops, high-pressure front conditions prevail on Thursday, good backcountry touring weather, outstanding visibility, sunshine all day long but for a few harmless clouds. Light S/W winds. Milder. Zero-degree level will ascend again to over 3000 m. At 2000 m: rising from 2 to 7 degrees; at 3000 m: from -3 to +1 degree.

Sunny, mild weather. The snowpack will moisten further. Gliding snow will persist.