Hochschwab Mountains

Low avalanche danger, some freshly generated snowdrifts

Low avalanche danger, some freshly generated snowdrifts

Avalanche danger throughout Styria’s mountains is low. On Thursday small snowdrifts accumulated in the Northern Alps and Niedere Tauern which break when tread upon and can then glide away. Also, very isolated avalanche prone spots exist. The persistent weak layer is most endangered to release in high alpine zones of the Dachstein massif. Due to the shallow snow depths, often with melt-freeze encrusted or surface-hoar blanketed surfaces, the risks of taking a fall outweigh those of being buried in snow masses.

Snow depths are highly varied, the snowline is at about the timberline, on sunny slopes higher. The moist snowpack surface encrusts during the night. On shady slopes the weak layers can still be triggered. Fresh small snowpack patches are poorly bonded with the icy and encrusted old snowpack surface.In the lower range mountains the ground is bare, by and large.

On Thursday the peaks of the Northern Alps and Niedere Tauern will be shrouded in fog right from the start. Snowfall/rainfall is expected, but only in minor amounts. The snowfall level will descend from 1700 m to 1500 m. Strong to stormy NW winds will be blowing. On the southern flank of the Alps brisk winds will disperse the clouds. Temperatures will remain unchanged, the zero-degree level will be at about 2000 m.

Friday morning, barrier clouds will accumulate in the Northern Alps, but then sunny weather will reign. Thin cirrus clouds. The brisk NW winds will slacken off during the day, the temperatures rise somewhat. At 2000 m: +2 degrees. Avalanche danger levels will not change significantly, the risks of taking a fall require attentiveness.