Reading tip | Seasonal report of the Austrian avalanche warning services

The season report is available to download as a pdf here.

Winter 2016/17 in Austria

The first snowfall in the high mountains in September was followed by a cloudy, relatively cool and snowy October and a changeable November. At the end of November, a long-lasting high pressure situation established itself, which had the Austrian Alps firmly in its grip until Christmas with only a few brief interruptions. December 2016 was a good 3 degrees warmer than the long-term average and in only two years in the long history of measurements has December been drier than 2016. In the first few days of January, the entire Eastern Alps then experienced a deep winter with snow and sometimes very cold temperatures. Between the precipitation events, it repeatedly cleared up, allowing surface frost to form several times, which was then snowed in. January 2017 was one of the coldest on record. In terms of precipitation, the situation in Austria was split in January: a lot in the north, almost nothing in the south. The cold period came to an end at the turn of the month. February also saw the first major snowfall in the south, although rain fell repeatedly up to high altitudes. March 2017 broke the previous temperature record and goes down in the statistics as the warmest March in recorded history. The temperature in April was again below average. Very heavy snowfall set in in the middle of the month - due to up to 150 cm of fresh snow in 30 hours, two regions were briefly issued with a danger level 5. Finally, May was also cool and changeable at first, but then quickly turned into early summer. In the middle of the month, it even broke the 30 degree mark and overall there was 40% less precipitation than the long-term average.

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Avalanche winter 2016/17 - Statistical evaluations

Between October 2016 and May 2017, 136 avalanche incidents involving people were recorded in Austria. This involved 375 people, 40 of whom suffered injuries and 25 died. The number of fatalities thus corresponds exactly to the average value of the victim statistics in Austria dating back to 1977/78. 10 of the 19 fatal accidents occurred at danger level 3, 7 at level 2. No current danger level had been issued for the first two incidents in October and November. 60% of the accidents involving people occurred at level 3, 24% at level 2 and 10% at level 4.

12 of the 19 fatal accidents occurred in the 2000-2500m altitude range. Old snow conditions prevailed in 13 of the 19 fatal accidents, drifting snow conditions in 4 and wet snow conditions in 2. In all fatal accidents, the slope inclination in the starting area was greater than 35°. 12 fatal accidents occurred in terrain with exposures from north to northeast, 6 in exposures from west to southwest and one in the southeast exposure.

The sequence of regional danger levels in Austria reflects the course of the winter and shows both the three most precarious periods (mid-January, early March, late April) and the lack of snow in the south (the report contains a graphical list of the danger levels in the various regions on all days of the season).

In the entire Alpine region, 103 people died in avalanche accidents in the 2016/17 season. There were 7 victims in Switzerland, 1 in Germany, 25 in Austria, 21 in France and 49 in Italy. The high number of victims in Italy is mainly due to the devastating avalanche accident on 18.1.2017 in the Gran Sasso massif, in which a hotel was buried. 29 people could only be rescued dead.

Pictorial accident reports

In addition to this and other key statistical data, the seasonal report contains contributions from the LWDs of the individual federal states on winter in their region and detailed, richly illustrated accident analyses of selected incidents. The texts as well as the statistics and illustrations are informative and easy to understand. We recommend a close read, but even if you only look at the avalanche photos, the old snow problem stands out impressively as a defining characteristic of the 2016/17 season.

As every year, the detailed seasonal report is an impressive testimony to the incredibly valuable and highly professional work of the avalanche warning services.