Stub and Gleinalpe

Fresh snowdrifts at high altitudes.

Fresh snowdrifts at high altitudes.

Above the treeline avalanche danger is moderate, below that altitude danger is low Danger zones occur on E/S facing slopes at entries into gullies and bowls and behind discontinuities in the terrain, where snowdrifts can trigger, often by 1 person, small-to-medium sized, releasing slab avalanches. 

The snowpack has used up its reserves of cold up to summit levels, is isotherm and moist. Due to rain penetration the snowpack will destabilize further at night, cool during the day and regain some stabilization. Atop the moist snowpack base above 1000 m, up to 40 cm of fresh snow is expected, to be transported by strong NW winds to east and south-facing slopes, bonding well with the base, but possibly containing weak layers.

On Monday night, intensive rainfall in the northern barrier cloud regions, then moving to the southern and eastern regions of Styria in early morning, temperatures noticeably dropping. Snowfall level on Monday evening above 2000 m, dropping in the latter part of the night (if precipitation slackens off) to below 1000 m. As of Tuesday morning in Gurktal and Seetal Alps, Seckauer Tauern and rimline ranges, heavy snowfall will set in, slackening off only in evening. The northern barrier cloud regions will be without precipitation during the day. Winds will be strong-to-stormy from N/NW, at 2000 m: dropping from +7 on Monday evening to -4 on Tuesday evening.

The weather will remain capricious and cool, repeated snowfall along the northern flank of the Alps is expected. The wet-snow problem will recede, the snowdrift problem will increase at high altitudes.