High pressure weather patterns – November was dry and mild in the mountains

“In the Austria-wide analysis, 71 percent less precipitation fell than in average November,” says climatologist Alexander Orlik in a press release. In addition, cold air lakes (accumulation of cold air in a depression in the terrain or in a freeze hole, often occurring in mountains, take note) caused large temperature differences. “Compared to an average November in the climate period 1991-2020, this year it was 0.7 degrees too cool in the lowlands of Austria and 1.6 degrees too warm in the mountains,” Orlik said.

New temperature records
On November 1, some mountain stations in Geosphere Austria recorded new November temperature records: at Sonnblick in Salzburg, located about 3,109 meters above sea level, it was 7.1 degrees and at Rudolfshütte, located at 2,317 meters (also in the state of Salzburg), it was 13 degrees. Last month it was sunny in most of Austria. According to Geosphere Austria, there were 39 percent more hours of sunshine than would have been average.

Here you can view Geosphere Austria’s review.

In some regions, such as Flachgau and the Mostviertel, the typical fog fields were very persistent. There were fewer hours of sunshine there than normal.

The combination of little precipitation and often high temperatures has led to fewer days with snow cover and lower amounts of fresh snow than average in November in most of the country. In Ramsau am Dachstein (1207 meters above sea level) it snowed about 23 centimeters. For comparison: the average is 51 centimeters.