Tyrolean onset of winter

Snow as far as the valley, chains on pass roads

In the upper Lech Valley near Steeg/Lechleiten, there were wintry road conditions early on Friday.

(Bild: Land Tirol Webcam, Krone KREATIV)

From the Außerfern to East Tyrol: winter has arrived on the mountains in Tyrol and even in some of the higher-lying villages. On one or two mountain passes, winter equipment was already needed on Friday morning - in some places, snow chains were even compulsory. Due to the predicted masses of fresh snow, the risk of avalanches is once again an issue.

Snowfall in Seefeld at around 1200 meters, snow-covered roads in the upper Lechtal near Steeg, snow-covered Ischgl, St. Jakob in Defereggen is wrapped in a white dress: Some Tyrolean communities were already looking like the depths of winter on Friday morning. The forecasts had predicted it.

Winter tires or snow chains
So far there have been no major problems on the roads due to the weather. Traffic on the Brenner Pass was running in the early morning - with light snowfall in places, but "black" roads.

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Winter equipment was needed on the Arlberg in the early hours of the morning. This was initially still necessary on the Timmelsjoch High Alpine Road. "Winter tires or snow chains required," said the ÖAMTC. Snow chains were compulsory on the Defereggen Valley road (L25) between St. Jakob in Defereggen and the Staller Sattel and briefly also on the Hahntennjoch.

(Bild: UBIMET)

One meter of fresh snow, sometimes more possible
It will probably continue in the same vein in Tirol over the next few days. As reported, GeoSphere Austria had issued a snow and rain warning (both warning level "orange", level 3 of 4) for parts of Tirol until Sunday. According to the UBIMET weather service, up to one meter of fresh snow is possible at high altitudes, and in some cases even more.

There has already been a huge amount of fresh snow at the Berliner Hütte in the Zillertal Alps.

(Bild: Berliner Hütte)

According to the province, the main areas affected continue to be the north-facing slopes from the Arlberg and Außerfern to the Unterland, but primarily the eastern Unterland as well as the Tauern and Zillertal Alps. "In the eastern lowlands, precipitation could reach up to 150 liters per square meter in the next 40 hours according to current forecasts," it said on Friday afternoon.

These photos reached us from the Rauthhütte in Leutasch:

It should be noted that the prolonged rain may cause surface water, for example on fields. "In addition, in areas with snowfall, trees and branches can break under the weight. Snow breakage is therefore possible, which is why special care must be taken in this regard," warned the state.

Avalanche danger: be careful on the mountains
The risk of avalanches is also becoming an issue again with these volumes. Impatient winter sports enthusiasts could already be active at the weekend. Experts from the Tyrolean avalanche warning service are already warning people to take great care in the mountains: "Loose snow and sliding snow avalanches are to be expected. Accumulations of drifting snow are also likely to occur."