Hochschwab Mountains

Fresh wind slab above 2000 m, wet snow problem at medium altitudes!

The wind slab problem will decrease, but the wet snow problem will persist on Sunday. On Sunday, the sky will be mostly partly cloudy and it will remain very mild. From Monday, dense clouds and sunshine will alternate frequently and it will remain dry in most regions.

Fresh wind slab above 2000 m, wet snow problem at medium altitudes!

The avalanche risk is moderate at higher altitudes from early on. Fresh pillows of wind drifted snow can be triggered as small slab avalanches in some places on ridgelines and summits. In extremely steep, shady areas, avalanches can also tear through persistent weak layers and reach medium size. Below 2000 metres, the avalanche risk increases to moderate during the day as the temperature rises. Due to the rain or wet snowfall from the previous day, slopes that have not yet been discharged can sometimes spontaneously break off and reach medium size.

Outgoing longwave radiation at night is limited. The recent precipitation at a high snowfall level has brought additional moisture into the snowpack up to medium altitudes. The rise in temperature leads to additional moistening of the snowpack during the day. Some of the wind slab is still poorly bonded to the old snowpack in the ridgeline and summit areas. As it warms up, the snowpack settles during the day. In very shady areas above 2000 m, the snowpack still has cold reserves and some weak layers in the persistent weak layer are still prone to triggering.

It will be cloudy through the night on Saturday. It will be mostly cloudy or very cloudy, and from the Niedere Tauern to the Semmering it will still snow lightly at times above 1500 metres. Tomorrow, the clouds will largely clear along the northern side of the Alps, otherwise low-lying residual clouds will remain, shrouding most of the peaks of the peripheral mountains in fog and severely restricting visibility. There may also be light rain here and there. The temperature at an altitude of 2000 metres will be between -2 degrees in the morning and +2 degrees in the afternoon. The temperature at an altitude of 1500 metres will be between -1 and 6 degrees. Moderate winds from the west with gusts between 30 and 50 km/h.