Hochschwab Mountains

Moderate avalanche danger above treeline. Snowdrifts at high altitudes.

Unchanged conditions on Friday. In the Northern Alps the summits will be shrouded in heavy cloud, with repeated bouts of snowfall, the south will be more pleasant, even with sunshine. The wet-snow problem will diminish. In the barrier cloud regions, more fresh snow and fresh drifts are expected.

Moderate avalanche danger above treeline. Snowdrifts at high altitudes.

Above the treeline avalanche danger is moderate. Danger zones occur with the freshly generated snowdrift accumulations, esp. in extended S/E facing terrain, where 1 person can trigger an avalanche. At low and intermediate altitudes, naturally triggered wet-snow and loose-snow avalanches are still possible in all aspects on steep slopes, but decrease as temperatures drop. On very steep grass-covered slopes or smooth rock surfaces glide-snow avalanches can still be expected where snow depths permit.

From Koralpe to Turrach and from Niedere Tauern to Totes Gebirge, up to 30 cm of fresh snow has been registered since Tuesday night, deposited up to 1700 m atop a moist/wet snowpack and bonded well. Above that altitude the fresh snow was deposited atop a melt-freeze encrusted surface, the bonding is poorer. With moderate to storm-strength NW winds, new snowdrifts will accumulate, depositing patches on S/E facing slopes, their proneness to triggering increases with ascending altitude. At intermediate and low altitudes, the snowpack is already moist/wet down to the ground and can glide away naturally at any time of day. Likelihood of this decreases as temperatures drop.

On Thursday a powerful NW air current will lodge clouds against the Northern Alps and Niedere Tauern, with light snowfall. Large amounts are not expected. On the southern flanmk of the Alps, northerly winds will bring foehn effects, the clouds will disperse continually throughout the day, sunshine then appear. The NW winds will be moderate, brisker on the eastern rim of the Alps, even stormy in exposed terrain. At 2000 m: -4 to -6 degrees.