Wölz Tauern South

Persistent weak layer problem! Take particular care in gullies and bowls in northern and eastern exposures!

Persistent weak layer problem! Take particular care in gullies and bowls in northern and eastern exposures!

The avalanche risk is assessed as moderate above the tree line and low below. The snow layering is still very weak, especially in the northern and eastern sectors. Here, avalanches can be triggered by even small additional loads and can reach medium size when breaking through the weak old snowpack. In some cases, there is a thin, bound layer from the last snowfall. The danger areas are mainly located in the transition from little to more snow as well as behind terrain edges and in the entrance area of gullies and bowls. Some of the avalanche prone locations are difficult to recognise.

The total snow depth is well below average. A thin, partly bound snowpack covers a very variable and mostly hard old snowpack. There is significantly more snow in shady gullies and bowls than on sunny slopes, which are partly bare up to 2000 metres. In the northern and eastern exposures, the snowpack is still weakened by layers with faceted crystals and floating snow (persistent weak layer problem!).

Above around 1500 metres, and generally in the northern Niedere Tauern, the first half of the night will be cloudless. After that, the clouds will increase from the south-west. Clouds will generally dominate Tuesday, with only a brief southerly wind around noon to soften the weather. While the peaks of the northern Niedere Tauern will remain mostly clear, visibility on the southern side of the Alps will deteriorate from midday. From the late afternoon it will start to snow lightly from the Gurktal Alps via the Seetal Alps to the Koralm, with rain falling below 1400 metres. The temperature at an altitude of 2000 metres will be between -8 and -1 degrees. The temperature at an altitude of 1500 metres is between -5 and 1 degree. Moderate to strong winds with gusts of around 60 km/h from the south-west. Up to 80 km/h are possible on the Koralm.

An Italian low will bring snowfall and rain on Wednesday. The snowfall level will be between 800 and 1500 metres above sea level. There will be hardly any precipitation on the northern side of the Alps. The southerly wind will ease in the west. The avalanche risk increases slightly with the new fallen snow.