Weather warning due to rain, snow and black ice

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Rain, snow, and black ice are expected in December. Geosphere Austria issued weather warnings on Thursday: There will be widespread rain and partly snowfall on Friday, with black ice possible in the short term. Fresh snow will “probably fall throughout Austria” on Saturday, threatening traffic problems.

On Friday night, it will rain and snow in most of Austria. In the south, it will rain down to around 2,000 meters; everywhere else, the snow line will be between low altitudes and 1,000 meters. According to Geosphere, black ice from freezing rain is also possible at night and in the morning, “particularly in the area from the Tyrolean lowlands via Flachgau, Upper and Lower Austria to the Vienna area.”

Large amounts of rain will fall in the south. “Carinthia, in particular, will see widespread rainfall of 30 to 50 millimetres on Friday, with higher amounts in the Karawanken and Carnic Alps,” said meteorologist Gerhard Hohenwarter, adding that “small-scale flooding cannot be ruled out.”

According to the forecast, it will cool down from night to Saturday, and it will snow in most of the country, with rain still falling in places in the south. “On Saturday itself, it may snow all over Austria for a few hours, even heavily,” says Geosphere. “The exact amount of fresh snow is still difficult to estimate. “At the moment, it looks like 30 to 50 centimetres of fresh snow for East Tyrol, Carinthia, southern Salzburg, and the Upper Mur Valley,” says Hohenwarter, “while the rest of Austria should get between ten and 30 or 40 centimetres at low altitudes.”

On Saturday, the heavy snow could cause problems on roads and railway lines. If trees fall on power lines due to the weight of the snow, power lines may be disrupted. “You also must remember that it’s the first shopping Saturday in Advent. A few centimetres of fresh snow is enough to cause major traffic problems, especially in the big cities,” said the meteorologist.

The snowfall will subside quickly on Sunday, and the sun will shine at least occasionally. It could even be a bright and sunny winter’s day in the west and south. It will remain cold all day, with maximum temperatures between minus four and one degree. Recreational sports enthusiasts should be aware of the risk of avalanches. “Experience shows that avalanche accidents in open terrain are more frequent on the first sunny days after large amounts of fresh snow,” says the expert.