Category: Current situation

Cold front brings snow to high alpine regions Following stormy bouts with a southerly foehn wind, then a cold front, it turned wintery along the Main Alpine Ridge in Tirol. Between 04.10 and 07.10.2021, measurement stations registered generally between 20 and 80 mm of precipitation, in some cases more than 100 mm. However, due to…

Coolest spring for at least 25 years – Still lots of snow in the mountains The ZAMG Weather Service recently informed us that spring 2021 is the coolest we have had in the last quarter of a century at least. Similar temperatures prevailed for the last time in 1996 and 1991, a notch cooler still…

 Regionally still lots of snow in the mountains During a period of overly cool, highly variable weather, the snow depths in high alpine regions are still increasing. Very wintery conditions continue to reign there unchangingly. This coincides with the reports of ZAMG Weather Service: spring was this cool in 1996 and 1991. Overall snow depths…

 The winter just doesn’t want to stop… Over the last few days, a strong southerly foehn wind was blowing in the mountains. Today (11.05) the foehn collapsed. In the southern regions, precipitation has set in. In the northern regions a cold front from the west will move in during the evening/nighttime hours. Windspeeds reach nearly…

Sudden warmth impulse harbors heightened wet-snow avalanche potential Still lots of snow in the mountains The ZAMG Weather Service today published a notice of striking and powerful impulses of warmth which will bring about increased snowmelt between Sunday, 9 May and latest Wednesday, 12 May. It is a result of the still immense amounts of…

Snowpack becoming increasingly wet – Likelihood of naturally triggered avalanches rising Over the last few days it was quite warm, amid variable weather conditions. The snowpack became ever moister, also at high altitudes, thoroughly wet even down to lower layers. In the southern regions this was not the case, due to temporarily poor weather. It…

A sunny weekend awaits us. Caution towards wet-snow avalanches during course of day! Following a typical variable period of April weather bringing us rainfall regionally up to 2000m in many northern regions, today on 22.04 weather conditions are now improving. During the night, skies will begin to clear. On Friday and Saturday, sunny and warm…

Diffuse radiation raises likelihood of triggering on shady slopes – Caution urged esp. at 2200-2600m As was amply evident in the most recent blogs, it was possible to savor superb powder snow in many areas on shady slopes amid low temperatures last week. As of today, 19.04, the sun appeared frequently between the clouds. This,…

 New weak layers possibly forming The recent instable weather with its immense temperature fluctuations is giving us a headache. The reason: it provides perfect prerequisites for Danger Pattern “cold on warm” (dp.4). This syndrome is known for forming weak layers inside the snowpack after a certain post-snowfall period. As of today, 15.04.2021, we have evidence which…

Temperature progression…far removed from normal Yes, this is April, and April is well known for capricious weather. Even taking that into consideration, we gaze back on a highly ususual sequence of temperature development. Let’s permit an expert at ZAMG Weather Service, Alexander Radlherr, to elucidate just what happened:  “The ups and downs in temperature were…