WeatherBlog 18 2025/26| Early spring

Current situation

The front announced by Lea last week is still hanging over the Eastern Alps as a small high-altitude low, making the air somewhat more unstable. This means cumulus clouds and isolated showers. The snow line is around 1400 m, but there won't be much, according to our PG weather, a cosmetic 1-3 cm is possible locally. Today, the high-altitude low will finally move eastwards. It will be sunny across the entire Alpine arc, but it will remain somewhat changeable in the far east. Overall, however: spring-like mild and the zero degree limit will rise to over 2000 m during the day.

Outlook

It will continue to be sunny and cloudless - and with a pronounced omega situation probably also for the rest of the week. So from a weather point of view... nothing will happen for now. What this means for us is probably already clear to most people: clear nights ensure strong radiation.

The snow surface freezes well and presents itself in the early morning hours. It then slowly begins to soften with the first rays of sunshine. Spring is knocking on the door and brings wonderful spring ski touring conditions. However, the zero degree line rises to a good 2800 m by the weekend. This means that the window of opportunity for perfect firn moves higher - and becomes narrower.

For tours, this means: it's worth starting early. Firn in the morning, increasing moisture in the afternoon. The daytime increase in avalanche danger becomes an issue - especially on sunny slopes. If you are out and about, you should keep an eye on the latest reports on avalanche.report.

And a little tip on the side: pack crampons to be on the safe side. In the morning it is often harder than expected - and slipping is not a good way to end the season.

The winter of 2025/26 was too mild and too dry overall in Austria . According to the preliminary winter balance of GeoSphere Austria, the temperature in the lowlands was +0.5 °C above the 1991-2020 average, while in the mountains it was even +1.9 °C. This makes this winter one of the warmest in the mountain measurement series since records began.

There was also a deficit in terms of precipitation: around 20 % less than average fell across Austria. Snowfall was below average at all altitudes, in some cases significantly so. Individual intense phases - particularly in February - were unable to make up for the shortfall.

For a somewhat broader view beyond the Alps, it is also worth taking a look at the Monthly Climate Bulletin from Copernicus. The evaluations to date show that both December and January were warmer and drier in the Alpine region than the long-term average.

The data for February has not yet been published. Anyone interested in more detailed climatological developments can follow the monthly reports in the Copernicus Climate Bulletin , where global and European climate conditions are regularly summarized.