Schneedecke

Today I'm showing you the relevant layers for us before and after the snowfall at the beginning of March using several profiles. It's expected to snow heavily again in the northern Alps next week - so it's all the more important to know what's underneath the fresh snow!

The weather is set to be changeable over the next few days, with not-so-bad snow options, especially from next week. We are keeping our fingers crossed that the crystal ball is not mistaken and maintains its current vision. Long-term visions for the future are unfortunately much less snowy, reports the ZAMG.

In today's SnowFlurry we discuss a profile in which you can see that the susceptibility of the weak layer to disturbance has improved. In the last flurry, the same weak layer was even easier to disturb.

The current omega situation will continue to bring us warm temperatures and sunshine. On Friday, there is a chance of change in the form of more clouds and perhaps even some (light) precipitation in the north, then mostly sunny but slightly cooler again at the weekend. There is currently no sign of winter.

In today's Gestöber we discuss a snow profile from January 24, 2021. The profile was dug and recorded in the Mieming, on the Simmering, on a 34° steep, SE-facing and rather snow-poor slope.

After the interesting contrast of Sahara feeling in the Alps and snow chaos in the northern German lowlands, the cold is now making its way south. The coming weekend will be very cold with lots of sunshine. There will still be a little snow here and there today and tomorrow, but the coming cold phase will be mostly dry.

While there was a precarious situation in the northern Alps a week ago with numerous spontaneous avalanches, you hardly ever see fresh avalanches that come off on their own anymore. Weak layers and snow slabs often quickly change their characteristics for the better - we compare two profiles that were recorded nearby during the situation and a week later.

The Austrian Society for Snow and Avalanches (ÖGSL) is organizing a virtual lecture evening with top-class experts from Switzerland and Austria next Thursday (21.1.) at 7 pm. As usual with "schnÖGSLn", the talks will be entertaining and accessible. After the talks, there will be time for questions from the audience and discussion.

In South Tyrol, East Tyrol and Upper Carinthia, there are currently some easily triggerable weak layers in the snowpack at certain altitudes and exposures. We take a look at two current profiles from East Tyrol.

In addition to the constructive and degradative transformation, which have often been discussed in SnowFlurry, there is also mechanical transformation. Today we ask ourselves: What happens to snow crystals during mechanical transformation? What does the formation of drift snow have to do with it and how does it actually develop?

Sebastian, the curator of the Videos of the Week, is unfortunately unable to make it this time, so Lea has come up with a few video recommendations at short notice. It's a pretty mixed selection, but that's the way it is when the substitute has to step in! We start with a lecture on behavioral economics and avalanches, then turn our attention to the snowpack, then back to the human factor and finally to the best (?) of all ascent aids.

Roughly speaking, there is now an accident-prone old snow problem in Tyrol, especially north of the Inn, as the weaker snowfall means that there is now a perfect slab above the weak layers. Further south, however, the weak layers have not disappeared, but there are far fewer places where slab avalanches can be triggered due to the thicker layers.