Those were hours of bliss. The sun shone from an azure sky above the carpet of fog and where it became riddled during the day. With up to eight degrees plus in the past few days little reminded of the winter, which should actually experience a high in mid-January. Instead, there was high pressure, on the edge of which Upper Austria was sunbathing. That is now – at least temporarily – over. The high pressure area will be blown away by the wind from today.
“The week begins with strong winds, peaks of up to 80 kilometers per hour are possible, especially in the Mühlviertel,” says Claudia Riedl, meteorologist at the Central Institute for Meteorology and Geodynamics (ZAMG). The wind drives thick clouds in front of it, the precipitation, which the ski areas in particular would urgently need, is subdued during the day.
In the congested areas of the mountains, however, up to 20 centimeters of fresh snow can fall on Tuesday night. The temperatures reach zero to six degrees. Tomorrow, Tuesday, the wind will calm down temporarily, flakes will only fall in the southern mountains with a snowfall limit of 500 meters. An intermediate high on Wednesday lets the sun shine again where the stubborn fog is clearing.
From Thursday, the high winter will finally try again: A large increase in fresh snow is to be expected, especially in the mountains. Cold winter weather with snowfall and strong winds also dominates in the valleys. Only a few sun windows are to be expected.
Avalanche danger will increase
“Thursday and Friday up to 50 centimeters of fresh snow can accumulate on the mountains. However, it falls under the influence of strong winds,” says Riedl. This will significantly increase the avalanche danger (currently still low). What – according to the current status – could be dangerous, especially on Sunday: Then the next high pressure area pushes over Upper Austria. With fog in the lowlands and sunshine on the mountains.
Source: Nachrichten
