Karawanks West

Afternoon: Increase in avalanche danger. A precarious avalanche situation will prevail.

The current avalanche situation calls for caution and restraint. The new snow and wind slabs remain prone to triggering.

Afternoon: Increase in avalanche danger. A precarious avalanche situation will prevail.

The fresh snow and the wind slabs that are forming during the snowfall will be deposited on a weakly bonded old snowpack on west, north and east facing slopes above the tree line. Especially here avalanches can be triggered in the faceted old snow. This applies even in case of a small load. Mostly avalanches are medium-sized. Remotely triggered avalanches are possible. The avalanche prone locations are widespread and are barely recognisable. The number and size of avalanche prone locations will increase with altitude. Whumpfing sounds and the formation of shooting cracks when stepping on the snowpack serve as an alarm indicating the danger. The current avalanche situation calls for caution and restraint.

30 cm of snow has fallen since Saturday. In some regions 15 cm of snow, and even more in some localities, will fall above approximately 1500 m. As a consequence of a gusty wind from southerly directions, further wind slabs will form. These are lying on top of a weakly bonded old snowpack above the tree line. The old snowpack is faceted and weak. This applies especially in shady places that are protected from the wind. The old snowpack will be subject to considerable local variations.