Up to 15 degrees: spring can be seen briefly
“Limited ski operations due to a strong storm!” That’s the announcement on Monday in many ski areas in Austria. Blizzard-like conditions with heavy snowfall and wind gusts of 100 km/h reduced the view of the mountains to a few meters, in the year 2000 meters it was icy minus ten degrees. Normal skiing was almost impossible.
In the early hours of the morning, the massive cold front crossed Austria and a new wind record was measured at the Innsbruck University station. A gust of 115 km/h was strong – the strongest in the history of measurements. The old record was 105 km/h and was registered during a thunderstorm in July 2015. 150 km/h were measured on the Galzig in the Arlberg area and on the Dachstein. The wind was even stronger in Carinthia, at midday 163 km/h were measured at the Kölnbreinsperre in the Maltatal.
High avalanche danger
The cold front has brought a fair amount of snow to the ski resorts. Lech and Schmirn reported around 30 cm of fresh snow, almost 40 cm in Saalbach, half a meter on many mountains and almost a meter on the Seegrube high above Innsbruck. The avalanche danger has increased again due to the fresh snow and storm, in Tyrol the avalanche warning level is four out of five above the tree line, as well as in parts of Vorarlberg and in Pinzgau – more on this in wetter.ORF.at.
The wind is considered the master builder of avalanches, and sleet deposits are also currently causing problems: sleet acts like ball bearings in the snow cover, making it even easier to trigger avalanches. Restraint in ski tours and off-piste runs is also advisable in the next few days.
A high called “Holm”
As early as Tuesday, however, the signs are pointing to calming down. A few denser clouds are still moving through and the wind is still strong, sometimes stormy in the mountains, but it is mostly dry. It’s getting increasingly sunny, especially in Carinthia, southern Styria, Vorarlberg and Tyrol. The frost is already weakening at higher altitudes, in the afternoon it will be minus two degrees at 2000 meters.
Wednesday brings glorious ski weather with sunshine all over Austria, a high then finally prevails. It’s called Holm. Thursday will also bring plenty of sunshine. The temperatures are increasing considerably, up to about 15 degrees are possible on both days. The wind will then no longer play a role, and so it will feel like spring in the afternoons. The air that flows to us has its origin in the Azores.
First pollen
The temperatures on Wednesday and Thursday are almost ten degrees above the normal values for the season. Daily highs of around five degrees are common in the provincial capitals for the beginning/mid-February. But it was warmer this winter: on January 1, it was 18.8 degrees in Köflach in Styria. It will also be unusually warm in the mountains, so on Wednesday in the Ötztal Alps almost ten degrees can be expected at an altitude of 2000 meters.
It could be unpleasant for those allergic to pollen: hazel and alder are ready to bloom, and the pollen warning service is expecting the first load peak for early bloomers, especially in eastern Austria.
Cold wave not in sight
The guest appearance of spring is only short-lived. Already on Friday it won’t be that sunny anymore, and the next rain and snow clouds will come. They may be gone for the weekend and the sun is returning, but it’s cooler.
Real winter weather throughout Austria or even a cold spell is not in sight. This means that it can already be said with some certainty that this winter will be among the ten warmest in Austria’s more than 250-year history of measurements.