Wölz Tauern South

Despite little fresh snow: fresh, trigger-sensitive snowddrifts due to stormy winds

Despite little fresh snow: fresh, trigger-sensitive snowddrifts due to stormy winds

The focus lies in the regions where snowfall has been heaviest, in the regions of northern Upper Styria. But the fresh snowdrifts on the southern flank of the Alps should not be overlooked which formed with the ongoing influence of storm-strenth NW winds. These can be triggered even by minimum additional loading on E/S facing slopes. Thus, avalanche danger above the treeline is considerable, triggerings are possible even by minimum additional loading. Caution urged in transitions from shallow to deep snow.

Some drifts have been deposited in high altitude zones atop a hardened snowpack surface which is partly covered with surface hoar. The old snowpack beneath this has settled well. Only in shady terrain at high altitudes are there still faceted crystals embedded around the melt-freeze crusts, which weakens the snowpack. Otherwise the snowpack is hardened and icy.

The Eastern Alps are caught in a classic northern barrier cloud situation: due to stormy NW winds moist-cold air masses have reached the northern flank of the Alps since Friday, focus on northern Styria. The snowfall will persist overnight, in the course of the day on Sunday they will slowly ease and move to the eastern rim of the Alps. The peaks are shrouded in fog, some sunshine peeks through, particularly in the Dachstein region. The stormy winds will not ease much, the snowfall level will ascend to 500 m. Around midday, temperatures will reach -7 degrees at 2000 m; -3 degrees at 1500 m. On Tuesday, high-pressure front conditions will temporarily prevail: cloudless skies, rising temperatures, intensifying winds.

Little change in the current avalanche danger levels