PA#4 for Austria

By Henri on 21 January 2022 · 19

Loser-Altaussee - in the next 48 hours we'll see well above 50 centimeters of snow here (panomax.com)

Today, we are exactly in between two snow phases. After 20 to 30 centimetres yesterday in the eastern Austrian stau area, today it is temporarily quieter. Tomorrow, a passing warm front will bring a real bang, bringing half a metre of snow on a large scale. A stormy wind will spoil the fun tomorrow and make conditions higher up very tricky.

20cm of fresh snow

About 20 centimetres in the Nordstau areas from Tyrol and further east. Around the Dachstein locally even a bit more. Higher up, the wind was already quite stormy yesterday, especially in the east. The weather station on the Feuerkogel in Upper Austria recorded wind gusts of over 100 kilometres per hour yesterday. Tomorrow, the passing of the warm front in combination with the heavy snowfall will make it even more stormy.

Residual clouds and sun in the Inntal (photo-webcam.eu)

Intermezzo

The forecasts on wePowder are powdered by our friends at Ortovox

Today it will be a bit quieter before the long-awaited strong snowfall arrives in the form of a warm front. On the webcam image in Innsbruck you can still see the clouds of the Nordstau in the Karwendel (left), but south of it it's already clearing up and it's even quite sunny. Further east it is still a bit cloudier and it continues to snow a bit longer in the stau areas.

Warm front

Tomorrow will bring the real dump we have been waiting for. A warm front will provide a mild and moist flow that will hit the Austrian Alps. The extra lifting movement at the edge of the Alps can bring a lot of snow in a short time. With the passing of the warm front, the cold will be driven further to the east, but it will still be cold enough for snow up to most valleys. Below 1000 metres, the snowfall will become a bit wetter as the day progresses. The snow line will not rise much above 600 metres.

Between the Tyrolean Unterland and the far eastern Alps, half a meter of snow may fall higher up until Saturday night. The strongest snowfall, as I wrote in the previous weather reports, is expected around the Dachstein massif. In the stau areas 80 to maybe even 100 centimeters of snow is possible on top of the snow that has already fallen. Don't go too high up on Saturday, because the wind is going to increase again. In combination with heavy snowfall and poor visibility it will not a good idea. The winds will be still strong on Sunday too, but a lot less compared to Saturday. When the calm has returned after the weekend, especially Monday and Tuesday will be two dream days in:

Upper Austria
Salzburgerland
Eastern areas of Tyrol
West/North of Styria

Our 6 day forecast with lots of snow on Saturday

Stormy winds and avalanche danger!

As I mentioned earlier, the wind will play a big role during the heavy snowfall tomorrow, making it very tricky. Wind gusts of over 100 kilometres per hour are possible again and will cause a lot of wind-blown snow. Both on the northern edge of the Alps and in the inner alpine areas around the alpine ridge this Triebschnee will be a big problem! Check the avalanche bulletins of the local avalanche services before you go.

When you are on the road in areas like Krippenstein and Loser - Altaussee (where it gets really deep) you have to take into account another danger besides the strong winds and the increasing avalanche danger. Pay attention to the dolines in the terrain in these areas! There has not been a lot of snow this winter and the karst landscape with funnel-shaped dolines in Loser - Altaussee and Krippenstein is treacherous, especially during heavy snowfall, wind and poor visibility. If you don't know the terrain, go with a guide.

High pressure takes over after the weekend (wetter3.de, DWD)

Monday and Tuesday dream days

From Sunday onwards, it will slowly but surely clear up in Austria as well, and Monday and Tuesday promise to be two wonderful powder days, as I mentioned earlier. Only the easternmost Alps will have to deal with clouds for a while longer, but here it will remain a lot colder than in the west. In the rest of the Alps it will remain dry and sunny for the next few days. For both the Western and Southern Alps, we don't have to expect fresh snow until the end of next week.

Comments

Beginner

powstria op 21 January 2022 · 19:54

@Henry do you still think Tauplitz is an option for Sun? Bergfex models downsizes a lot for that resort and also for Dachstein West to 35cm

Was wondering what you think.

Beginner

Henri op 21 January 2022 · 20:17

I would be surprised if it's only 35cm tomorrow for those two areas. Many models still show 50cm on a large scale, especially for this region. I think it is still an option.

Beginner

powstria op 21 January 2022 · 20:48

Today part of Zillertal had around 30cm which was surprising and local reports from Fieberbrunn seemed to to be more than expected. Also tomorrow Fieberbrunn and Skiwelt seem to forecast between 40 and 60cm - do you think it is possible this low and relatively west?

estiswe op 22 January 2022 · 10:13

Hey guys! We are a group that will arrive in Austria on Monday evening and we are trying to figure out where to go! None of us have any experience of resort's east of Sölden so I would be grateful if you guys have any suggestions. The forecast still seems to favor the most eastern parts?

On beforehand I thought about ether going to Zillertal valley or Zell am see but now I'm unsure, maybe the easy accessable pow will already be gone on Tuesday? Also, if there is a chance of up to 100 cm pow elsewhere it would be a shame to miss it! 😃

pkaelli op 22 January 2022 · 12:09

Saalbach is great today! Depending on wind/slope direction etc about 20-50cm of freshies!

more and more coming....! 😊

Tschera001 op 22 January 2022 · 17:35

We are currently at Loser and there is a massive dump but also lifts are closed due to wind and avalanche danger 🙈 so if someone has good touring options (in the trees) here at Loser let us know 😎

Advanced

powderhoundmoritz op 22 January 2022 · 20:10

Anybody in zauchensee or Obertauern who can confirm decent snowfall? Still struggeling where to arrive tomorrow.... Loser looks like too lees freeride options for 5 days to me :/

Tschera001 op 22 January 2022 · 20:24

@powderhoundmoritz I think the region around Loser offers a lot. You have Tauplitz, Dachstein, Krippenstein and all the rest just nearby. Probably you already know Lawis.at (https://lawis.at/station/?intro=false〈=de&focus=false&zoom=6...). There you can check out all the weather stations. Normally the data there is pretty accurate 😊

Tourist

8611 op 23 January 2022 · 13:23

Great forecast Henri, thanks for your help!

Advanced

powderhunters op 23 January 2022 · 20:49

Hello everyone,

just quic feedback. Unfortunately Loser eded up in much worse conditons than we expected.
Saturday, when the snow was very good, lifts were closed due to strong winds. And when they opened on Sunday, there was too much humidity in the air, mild temperature and almost mixture of snow and rain. So all the fluffy powder turned into a sticky wet heavy compact snow.Upper parts were better, but almost no visibility.

Advanced

powderhunters op 23 January 2022 · 20:51

any idea where to go tomorrow to get more fun? 😀

pkaelli op 23 January 2022 · 23:04

Saalbach is still very good! All pow on pistes and on the sides is gone but snow is good on off piste. If the area is unknown, with a guide tomorrow will be excellent!

pkaelli op 23 January 2022 · 23:04

Saalbach is still very good! All pow on pistes and on the sides is gone but snow is good on off piste. If the area is unknown, with a guide tomorrow will be excellent!