From Thursday, a cold front will move into Austria from the northwest while an area of low pressure forms over northern Italy. This will lead to a strong change in the weather, as Harald Seidl, a meteorologist at GeoSphere Austria, explains: “Cold and humid air masses will mix over Austria, which will lead to heavy rainfall in many regions.” Considerable fresh snow is also expected in the mountain regions. The snow line will be between 1000 and 1500 meters. “In some valleys, however, it may also snow below 1000 meters,” Seidl continues.
Continuous rain in large parts of Austria
According to the current forecasts (as of Wednesday, September 11), the rain will initially focus on the south of Austria on Thursday before shifting to the east on Friday. The largest amounts of rain are expected at the weekend (Saturday and Sunday) in the regions from northern Burgenland to Vienna, Lower Austria, Upper Austria, Upper Styria and Salzburg. Heavy rainfall is expected to continue, especially in the eastern half of Austria, at the beginning of next week. However, an exact forecast for the further development is still uncertain.
Flooding, mudslides and snowfall
Due to the large amounts of rain, localized flooding is expected in the coming days. Smaller rivers and streams could also burst their banks. Disruptions to road and rail traffic are also to be expected. At higher altitudes, heavy snowfall poses a further risk. Falling branches or toppling trees could block traffic routes and damage power lines. Winter conditions may occur on important mountain passes such as the Arlberg Pass, the Radstädter Tauern Pass (Obertauern and Katschberg areas) and the Brenner Pass. Snowfall or sleet can also be expected on the Tauern highway in higher areas.
Large amounts of rain in large parts of Austria
Between Thursday and Sunday, 100 to 200 millimeters of rain are expected in many regions of Austria (1 millimeter of rain corresponds to 1 liter of water per square meter). The mountain regions in Upper and Lower Austria and northern Upper Styria are particularly affected. In some areas, the rain could even significantly exceed 200 millimeters. In Vorarlberg and the Tyrolean Oberland, slightly less precipitation of 40 to 80 millimeters is expected. At higher altitudes, between 100 and 150 centimeters of fresh snow will fall from Thursday to Sunday, especially in the areas from the Kaiser Mountains to the Hochschwab.
Strong winds exacerbate the situation
In addition to the massive amounts of rain and snow, strong to gale-force winds are also expected from Friday to Sunday. Gusts of 70 to 90 km/h are possible, especially in the eastern half of Austria. The gusts could be even stronger in exposed locations and the mountains.
Storms also in neighboring countries
The weather situation will affect Austria, as well as the neighboring countries of Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Poland. In the coming days, large amounts of rain are also expected in these countries, which could lead to problems.
- source: wetter.at/picture: Image by Horacio Lozada from Pixabay
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